Town of Columbia

The year was 1930.  Johann Fredrick "Fred Schlez's Columbia Theater was filled to capacity every Saturday evening.  Nearby, the Branning Lumber Company dominated the Scuppernong River waterfront.

Today the theater has been renovated to house the Columbia Theater Cultural Resources Center, a museum for Columbia and Tyrrell County.  The former lumber company site now features the Tyrrell County Visitor's Center, with offices of the regional Partnership for the Sounds and the Walter B. Jones Center for the Sounds. These new features are among the attractions that make the 215-year-old town a must-stop on the US-64 trip from the capital to the coast. 

The theater on Main Street houses exhibits exploring human interaction with the areas environment, especially through farming, fishing and forestry.  Hunter Jim, an animated life-sized figure, tells visitors of hunting traditions in the Inner Banks.  Twenty turn-of-the-century houses and churches make up the Columbia Walking Tour.  These homes, along with the Tyrrell County Courthouse and commercial buildings along Main and Broad streets, form part of the town's historic district, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pocosin Arts Folk School operates an education gallery showcasing works of regional artists in a variety of media.  Exhibitions are staged throughout the year and Pocosin Arts' wintertime Cabin Fever Reliever assembles top arts and crafts instructors for week-long workshops.

Columbia's downtown offers unique shopping and dining experiences.  Three restaurants are within walking distance of the waterfront, and Main Street businesses include a family-operated five and dime, a hardware store that dates to World War II, an antique shop and another art gallery featuring works of regional artists and photographers. One block east, a bed-and-breakfast is located in the Victorian Combs-Hussey House.

Access to the downtown can be by automobile, or on foot from the Tyrrell County Visitor's Center and rest area overlooking the Scuppernong River.  A boardwalk connects to Main Street, but also includes a three-quarter mile trail that loops through a pristine bottomland swamp and along the river.  Interpretative signs explain the workings of the blackwater swamp ecosystem.

The Walter B. Jones, Sr. Center for the Sounds, named for the late Congressman, serves as an environmental education center, with exhibits on black bear, waterfowl and the Red Wolf as well as a theater and gift shop. Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is  housed in the facility and offers additional educational programs, some conducted in an outdoor classroom just off the boardwalk, surrounded by swampland flora and fauna.

Some of the nation's best farmland is found in Tyrrell County, which produces bountiful crops of wheat, potatoes, corn, soybeans and cotton.  Although commercial fishing has declined in recent years, crabbing remains big business in the county.  Captain Neill's Seafood in Columbia is the leading east coast supplier of crab meat to Sam's and Costco stores.  Lush forest still covers much of the area, and forestry remains an important part of the county's economy.

Bordered by the waters of Lake Phelps, the Albemarle Sound and Alligator River, and bisected by the Scuppernong River, Tyrrell County is a haven for wildlife and is fast developing an eco-tourism industry.  Red wolves howl, bobcats roam, bear and deer abound, bald eagles and peregrine falcons soar and the American alligator glides slowly in its northernmost habitat.  Underfoot and at waters edge are Red-Crested orchids, purple pitcher plants, swamp mallow and two species of rare swamp dogwoods. Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Palmetto-Peartree Preserve, Buckridge Coastal Preserve and Pettigrew State Park showcase the county's natural environment.  These waters offer excellent freshwater fishing.  Deer, black bear and waterfowl attract hunters during fall and winter months.

The Eastern 4-H Environmental Education Center is nestled amid wetlands and forest on 242 acres beside beautiful Bull's Bay.  This facility, which is a working example of ecologically sensitive construction and operating systems, serves as a summer youth camp.  It is available for corporate and civic retreats and conferences during remaining months.

Columbia has doubled its land area through several annexations in the past four years.  Most of the new lands are slated for residential development, with some business growth expected along the US-64 corridor.  In anticipation of that growth, the town is mid-way through a comprehensive planning process funded by a NC Rural Center Small Town Economic Prosperity grant. 

There is much optimism in this riverfront town that is now honoring its past while designing its future.