columbus was a railroad junction for the saint louis and san francisco, and the missouri, kansas, and texas railroads. it was named columbus by a.l. peters, one of the european-american creators of the city. it was named after his hometown of columbus, ohio; the name is indirectly named after christopher columbus, the explorer. coal, lead and zinc were found in the area. columbus had a big trade in agricultural products. its businesses had machine shops, grain elevators, flour mills, a cigar factory, bottle works (soft drinks), a canning factory, and a big brick-making factory.