The Columbia (former Bavaria) was used extensively for thirty-four years on Lake Geneva as a popular excursion boat. The Columbia, the second of three boats built by William Naper, was launched in 1895. The first boat built was the Geneva and the third was Aurora.

Originally named Bavaria. The name was changed shortly after the United States entered World War I as a result of a passenger questioning why an excursion boat in the United States would be named after a state in Germany when we were at war with them. The Captain of the Bavaria agreed, he stopped the boat in mid-lake, and pried off the old name boards. The next day the vessel had new name boards which read Columbia.
"The Columbia gave a good account of herself but had to be retired because of soft, decayed wood. At the end of the 1929 season, she followed the Geneva to the bottom of the lake." Full Speed Ahead. Larry Larkin