<P> Like many other significant early settlements in colonial America, Columbia is on the fall line from the Piedmont region . The fall line is the spot where a river becomes unnavigable when sailing upstream and where falling water downstream can power a mill . </P> <P> State Senator John Lewis Gervais of the town of Ninety Six introduced a bill that was approved by the legislature on March 22, 1786, to create a new state capital . There was considerable argument over the name for the new city . According to published accounts, Senator Gervais said he hoped that "in this town we should find refuge under the wings of COLUMBIA", for that was the name which he wished it to be called . One legislator insisted on the name "Washington", but "Columbia" won by a vote of 11--7 in the state senate . </P> <P> The site was chosen as the new state capital in 1786, due to its central location in the state . The State Legislature first met there in 1790 . After remaining under the direct government of the legislature for the first two decades of its existence, Columbia was incorporated as a village in 1805 and then as a city in 1854 . </P> <P> Columbia received a large stimulus to development when it was connected in a direct water route to Charleston by the Santee Canal . This canal connected the Santee and Cooper rivers in a 22 - mile - long (35 km) section . It was first chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, making it one of the earliest canals in the United States . With increased railroad traffic, it ceased operation around 1850 . </P>

When did columbia become the capital of sc