The Columbia corporate name has an interesting and colorful connection with the early history of Connecticut and transportation. According to Harry Holt and Arthur Maurice, the company’s owners, “Columbia” was the name of a 19th century tall ship captained by John Rathbone of Mystic, Connecticut. This 1051-ton vessel was representative of a class of sleek, fast sailing ships known as Packets. These ships enabled the United States to capture a major share of the growing transatlantic passenger traffic.
William Rathbone of Liverpool, England, and a relative of Capt. John Rathbone, was instrumental in organizing the Black Ball Line, which provided the first regularly scheduled transatlantic passenger service between the United States and Britain. Capt. Rathbone sailed under the famous Black Ball Line Burgee for many years before being lost at sea in 1847. His ancestors helped to settle Mystic and Stonington, Connecticut, as well as Block Island, Rhode Island. He is also credited with attempting to torpedo a British naval blockade of Stonington Harbor during the War of 1812.
Holt and Maurice have preserved these roots in the company’s name and unique logo, which combines the best of both the past and present: the tall ship Columbia, shown flying the famous Black Ball Burgee and the Piper Cheyenne 400LS, the fastest production turboprop of its time.
Columbia combines the tradition and excellence of the past with the innovation and technology of the present, to create a new standard in transportation for the future.
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