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is a city in Platte County, Nebraska, United States, 80 miles (148 km) west by north of Omaha on the Loup River, a short distance above the confluence with the Platte. In 1900, 3,522 people lived in Columbus, Nebraska; in 1910, 5,014; and in 1940, 7,632. The population was 20,971 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Platte County. Eccentric Union Pacific promoter George Francis Train once referred to the city as, "Columbus, the new center of the Union and quite probably the future capital of the U.S.A."
Columbus is home to the oldest tavern in the west, called Glur's Tavern. Buffalo Bill Cody would often come here when he was in the area. Columbus is the birthplace of Andrew Jackson Higgins, creator/designer of the Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP), or Higgins boat used during World War II. There is a memorial in his honor at Pawnee Park. Famous one-time residents of Columbus include U. S. Senator Chuck Hagel, Johnny Carson's parents, actor Brad William Henke, former pro baseball player Saul Soltero, former pro boxer Leon Spinks, three time world speed climbing champion Guy German, and NFL football players Cory Schlesinger and Chad Mustard. Buffalo Bill frequently visited the city and it was the site for the first full dress rehearsal of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show which formally opened a couple days later in Omaha. George Francis Train's Credit Foncier of America once built a hotel in the city, along with Train's in the city. Called the "Credit Foncier," the hotel was moved to Columbus from the town of Cleveland, Nebraska in 1868. With so much land in the city, Train freely predicted a great future for Columbus. He is credited with writing newspaper articles and delivering speeches in the Eastern United States in which he promoted the town, calling it, "Columbus, the new center of the Union and quite probably the future capital of the U.S.A."