Columbia's black residents, their enterprises, and their churches shaped the city's first 200 years, and many overcame enormous odds to leave outstanding legacies that in some cases brought national and international acclaim. Blacks lived along Flat Branch Creek before Columbia was founded in 1821, but when whites arrived, blacks were displaced. Although most Columbians helped one another recover from the devastation of the Civil War, the city eventually became segregated. Until the 1960s, most Columbia blacks lived, worked, shopped, and socialized in an area bordered by Wilkes Blvd., Garth Ave., Stewart Road, and Fifth St. Urban Renewal in the 1960s brought the loss of many black businesses and homes within this community.