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Columbus

Ghost town · Scott County, Illinois

Meredosia quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1928, 1:62,500)
Meredosia quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1928, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Columbus is a ghost town in Scott County, Illinois. It is one of 2 former communities in Scott County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 36th among the 78 Illinois counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Columbus as a historical populated place on the Meredosia topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 39.7639° N, 90.6043° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleMeredosia
Elevation440 ft
Nearest living townNaples, IL
Distance to it0.7 miles
GNIS feature ID1821147
Coordinates39.76394, -90.60429

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Columbus is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Naples, IL (population 99), about 0.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 440 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Columbus?

Columbus is in Scott County, Illinois, at 39.7639, -90.6043.

How many ghost towns are in Scott County?

Scott County, Illinois has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.