First settled in 1827, Richland was named for the home district of several pioneer families from South Carolina. The community became a busy railroad junction when the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery and the Columbus Southern rail lines met there in 1889. Richland was incorporated in 1890. By 1913, the city had 3 banks, 3 hotels, 25 stores, a guano factory, a cotton seed oil mill, a Coca Cola bottling plant, and other enterprises. The older part of the city is a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places as significant in city planning, transportation, architecture, and social history.