 After the American Civil War, cotton farming became the predominant use of agricultural land, thanks to the efforts of Frank Walls, sr. who invented an automatic distributor and cleaner for cotton gins.In 1870, an attempt to open Hermann University failed and the building was sold to the local school district instead.During the 1870s, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad passed through Columbus, to the south of Frelsburg and the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad passed to the north.