In an 1835 treaty, the Cherokee Indians were given this land as the Cherokee Neutral Lands. Kansas became a state in 1861, and the territory became Cherokee County, named for the Cherokee Indian Nation. During the Civil War, the Cherokee Indians sided with the South and lost the land. In 1867, the government sold the land to the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Gulf Railroad Company. Eventually four railroads served Columbus with over 100 trains per day. In 1868, four men each gave a corner of their homestead claim to plat the town, but because title was held by the railroad, this action was illegal. In April 1869, the town was resurveyed and legally recorded by the railroad. Columbus, named by settlers from Columbus, Ohio, was incorporated on April 11, 1870, with a population of 400, and it was designated the county seat in February 1869. Many of the buildings around the town square were built in the 1880's.