About this city
Also known as: The Gibraltar of the West
Columbus is a deeply historic, tiny rural city positioned atop the soaring limestone bluffs of Hickmans Bend on the Mississippi River, located in western Hickman County. Incorporated in 1820, the town was once strategically heavily fortified by Confederate forces during the American Civil War, dubbed the Gibraltar of the West due to its absolute artillery dominance over river transit. Today, the tranquil settlement serves primarily as a monumental public state historic park preserving profound Civil War engineering and battlefield memory.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 1 day
See the colossal 6-ton iron anchor chain used by Confederates to block union warships at Columbus-Belmont State Park. Hike the panoramic river bluff trails to view preserved Civil War earthen fortifications. Explore historic war artifacts inside the 1850s hospital-turned-museum building.
