Columbia, Kentucky

 city, county seat

Columbia is a city in and the county seat in Adair County, Kentucky, United States, just above Russell Creek. The area was settled around 1802 by Daniel Trabue. The post office was opened on April 1, 1806 by John Field, who also ran a local store. It is alleged that he named the community in honor of Christopher Columbus. The population was 4,452 at the 2010 census.

After years of promises by various Governors and other Kentucky Officials, Governor Ernie Fletcher finally made construction of the Columbia Bypass a reality. Construction began early in May 2007, which culminated in an official ground breaking ceremony by the former Governor himself on May 15, 2007 near the front of the newly constructed Adair County Elementary School, which faces the direction of the bypass. The Columbia Bypass was opened to the public on October 7, 2008 featuring a traffic light at the intersection of the bypass and North 55 as well as a traffic light at the intersection of South 61. The bypass has relieved a majority of the downtown traffic, the purpose of it being built in the first place.