The harbor became a busy port for shipping cotton by steamboats and Packet boats until the arrival of the railroad.

In February 1864 Columbia was the location of a skirmish between Federal and Confederate troops during the Civil War and there are several plantations in the area.

[4] Columbia is located just east of the center of Caldwell Parish at 32°6′15″N 92°4′37″W / 32.10417°N 92.07694°W / 32.10417; -92.07694 (32.104042, -92.076921),[5] on the southwest bank of the Ouachita River.

[6] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 277 people, 152 households, and 107 families residing in the town.

Law enforcement services are provided by the Columbia Police Department[8] and the Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office.