It wasn't until 1871 that borax was discovered near the town's site, and as a result Columbus increased substantially in its importance.

The town had a post office and local newspaper, The Borax Miner, an adobe school, an iron foundry.

Stage express offered daily service to Fish Lake Valley, Candelaria, and after 1876, Wadsworth.

[2] Columbus declined after 1875 when the Pacific Borax Company built a larger plant at Fish Lake, 30 miles south of town.

[1] By the mid-1880s, mining and commercial activity had ceased in the area, and Columbus slowly became a ghost town.