Columbus Riverwalk - Strolling through History on the Chattahoochee

What began as a sewer project as turned into one of the most remarkable heritage attractions in Georgia.

The Columbus Riverwalk winds along the banks of the Chattahoochee River, linking many of the city's historic sites, museums and points of interest. It grew from a visionary plan developed when the federal government required the city to do massive upgrades to its sewer systems. Engineers, planners and concerned citizens saw it as a chance to do something beautiful that could be enjoyed by city residents and visitors for years to come.

The original downtown stretch of the Riverwalk opened in 1992, but the project now extends for 22 miles, from Lake Oliver on the northern edge of the city all the way to the National Infantry Museum and Fort Benning to the south. Along the way, visitors can learn about the history of the city, the Battle of Columbus, the site where the ironclad C.S.S. Jackson was built and much more.

Among the major attractions that can be visited along the Riverwalk are Heritage Corner, Heritage Park, the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, the scene of the Battle of Columbus, the National Civil War Naval Museum, Oxbow Meadows Environmental Center and the stunning new facilities of the National Infantry Museum.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gacolriverwalk.

Heritage Park - Columbus, Georgia

One of the most unique historical attractions in Georgia is actually a park and outdoor exhibit in the Chattahoochee River city of Columbus.

Heritage Park was jointly developed by the Historic Columbus Foundation and the City of Columbus to help visitors and residents learn more about the unique industrial history of the city in an outdoor setting in the heart of the Columbus Historic District.

In addition to providing green space that links the city's beautiful Riverwalk with its famed Heritage Corner area, the park features life-sized exhibits that explain the unique connection between Columbus and the Chattahoochee River. The city is located at the Falls of the Chattahoochee, a now-dammed stretch of rapids that provided power for early mills and eventually for manufacturing plants.

Exhibits in the park include a water feature recreating the flow of the Chattahoochee River through the city, factory settings were sculptures show employees at work in factory settings, a simulation of the paddlewheel riverboat, an original brick kiln and even a statue of the city's beloved Dr. John Pemberton, inventor of Coca-Cola(R).

Because of its unique features, falling waters and other exhibits, the park is popular with both children and adults. Its location in the center of a wide array of attractions and historic sites, along with its well-designed interpretive facilities, makes it an outstanding place to learn more about the heritage of Columbus.

To learn more about Heritage Park, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/GAColHeritage.

Ghost of the Springer Opera House - Columbus, Georgia

One of the most unique ghost stories in Georgia is the tale that surrounds the stunning Springer Opera House in Columbus.

Built during the turbulent years of the Reconstruction Era, the Springer has hosted some of the world's top actors and political leaders over the years. Will Rogers once entertained audiences from its stage and William Jennings Bryan and Franklin Delano Roosevelt discussed their dreams for the future of America in the Springer.

But if old Columbus legends are to be believed, one of the theater's most famous guests is still hanging around.

Actor Edwin Booth, the brother of John Wilkes Booth who killed President Abraham Lincoln, came to the Springer to revive his career during the 1870s. With other members of his family, he had gone into voluntary seclusion following the Lincoln assassination. As time passed, however, he decided to try for a "come back" and the Springer was a key stop on that road.

Booth, as the story goes, so loved the Springer and its cheering audiences that he came back after his death to haunt the beautiful old theater. Described as a playful ghost, he supposedly teases female visitors and is said to enjoy causing trouble in the wardrobe area.

To learn more about the Ghost of Springer Opera House, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/springerghost.

The Last Major Battle of the Civil War - Columbus, Georgia

What can rightfully be called the last major battle of the Civil War took place on April 16, 1865, an Easter Sunday, for control of the industrial city of Columbus, Georgia.

Robert E. Lee had already surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia and Columbus was one of the last remaining centers for the production of military supplies in the Confederacy. Factories in the city produced weapons, swords, uniforms and other supplies and one of the largest ironclad warships undertaken by the Confederate Navy was floating in the Chattahoochee River and nearing completion. Time, however, was running out.

The Union army of General James Wilson was storming across Alabama aiming to take both Columbus and Macon. The massive Union raid had already disrupted and destroyed much of the iron industry in Alabama, demolished the Confederate facilities at Selma and captured the state and former Confederate capital of Montgomery. Wilson was now closing in on the line of the Chattahoochee.

One wing of his army, led by Colonel O.H. LaGrange, stormed Fort Tyler at West Point on the afternoon of the 16th, even as Wilson with the main body closed in on the Columbus bridges.

The primary fortifications of Columbus were located on the ridges surrounding Girard (today's Phenix City), a small community on the Alabama side of the river. The Confederates under Major General Howell Cobb did not have enough men to man the entire line, so Cobb concentrated on the forts, batteries and breastworks along the most likely avenues of attack.

Wilson tried to bypass this force by sending a column of cavalry dashing forward at around 2 p.m. in a desperate effort to seize one of the bridges. The attack failed and he was forced to bring up his full command for an assault on the Confederate defenses along the Summerville Road.

It was dark before Wilson's main attack began. At around 9 p.m., the 3rd Iowa and 10th Missouri Cavalry regiments stormed an advanced Confederate line, but came under a heavy fire from artillery and small arms in the main Southern defenses. A second charge up the Summerville Road, however, sliced through Cobb's main line and rolled over the hill and down to the Chattahoochee. Union troops became so mixed in with retreating Confederates that Southern artillerymen on the Georgia side of the river could not fire without hitting their own men.

The Federals stormed across the bridge and into Columbus. His lines in shambles, Cobb withdrew. The last major battle of the Civil War was over, but continues to be studied today because it is a classic example of confused night fighting. More fighting would still take place in Georgia, Texas, Alabama and elsewhere, but the Battle of Columbus was the last major battle of a major campaign.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/battleofcolumbus.