Founded in 1807, Columbia was the first continuously inhabited settlement in Lorain County. Harmon, Levi, and Azor Bronson, Calvin Hoadley, Jared Pritchard, and others formed the Waterbury Land Company to buy the township from the Connecticut Land Company. In 1808, Sally Bronson named the township and became its first teacher. In 1809, the first church society was formed and Hoadley built a log gristmill beside the Rocky River. A militia company was organized in 1810, and a two story blockhouse was constructed for protection during the War of 1812.