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.