[1] In 1835, John H. and Broadhead Du Bois settled along Goose Creek about 2.4 mi (3.9 km) west of Brooklyn with the intentions of using the small stream to power a set of mills.

The original village was located near the intersection of Jefferson Rd and Hewitt Rd, a portion of which was later rerouted when the lake was expanded.

[2] In September 1960, after an intensive study by American Central Corporation of Lansing, Michigan, the people in the Lake Columbia area, which was then mostly farmland, were contacted and their farms purchased.

It has a 225 ft (69 m) long spillway made of 2,000 cubic yards of concrete and 200,000 pounds of reinforced steel.

By early Autumn, the dam was completed and attention shifted to clearing the wooded portions of the basin.

Flooding commenced on November 10, 1961 culminating in the 840 acres (3.4 km2) of water that make up the modern Lake Columbia.

There are community-oriented events year-round, including fishing tournaments, an annual community-wide garage sale, a golf league, block parties, annual LCPOA picnic, Light Up the Night Weekend, outdoor movie at a park, a rotation of food trucks at the parks throughout the summer, and "trunk-or-treat" at Halloween.

It is set up through the Lake Columbia Property Owners Association, and is funded through private donations and the LCPOA.

Lake Columbia is located closely to the Irish Hills, Michigan International Speedway and the downtown area of Brooklyn.