After the selection as the county seat, Columbiana celebrated by drilling holes in a large pine tree and packing it with gunpowder.

Columbiana was incorporated on December 5, 1837, with corporate limits one-quarter of a mile in each direction from the public square.

In 1854, the decision was made to build a larger courthouse at the south end of “Silk Stocking Road”, now Main Street.

Churchill and Company foundry, which moved to Columbiana in 1862 after the fall of Corinth, Mississippi.

Churchill and Company foundry, Shelby Iron Works and the railroad were destroyed by Union forces on March 31, 1865, as part of Wilson's Raid.

Moving the courthouse to Columbiana was not necessarily popular in 1826 and there have been numerous attempts to relocate the county seat over the years.

The new courthouse was completed in 1908 and has been renovated and enlarged on a number of occasions.

The “Old Courthouse” is now home to the Shelby County Museum and Archives.

[6] The city is located in the southeastern part of the county along Alabama State Route 25, which runs northeast to southwest to the west of the downtown area, leading northeast 9 miles (14 km) to Wilsonville and southwest 11 miles (18 km) to Calera.

Columbiana is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alabama.

According to the 2010 census conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the population of Columbiana was 4,197.

The mayor is elected on an at-large basis for a four-year term and the five council members are elected from single member districts, each for a four-year term.

There were 1,372 housing units at an average density of 90.4 per square mile (34.9/km2).

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,462 people, 1,641 households, and 851 families residing in the city.