Columbus is a Hickman county town on the Mississippi River. It was established in 1804 as Iron Banks, named for the towering river banks, and incorporated as Columbus, for the explorer, in 1820. It 1821 it became the seat of newly-formed Hickman county and remained such until 1829 when it was moved to the more centrally located Clinton. After the 1927 flood the town was moved to higher ground a half mile from the river. The Columbus post office opened in 1820. The population in 1990 was 1,547.

Columbus is the site of Columbus-Belmont State Park.