The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Colfax was laid out on March 22, 1880, by James E. Wood (1818 – 1908). Anderson was born in Indiana and had come to McLean County about 1855 as State Missionary for the Christian Church. He stayed and became a farmer, a banker, and a lifelong promoter of Colfax. To locals, Anderson was affectionately known as "Uncle Billy". The northeastern townships of the county were among the last to be served by railroads. After many false starts the Clinton, Bloomington, and Northwestern Railroad began making its way westward from Kankakee. It was aided by contributions in cash and land for the right-of-way by many local farmers. Cropsey, Anchor, and Cooksville were all laid out at the same time as Colfax. The first train arrived in Colfax on July 4, 1880. For two years the track extended only from Kankakee to Colfax, and a turntable was installed to send the trains back eastwards. Eventually the t…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Colfax’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colfax’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewColfax quadrangle, Illinois : 15 …, 1958: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Colfax
See all 6 →
Colfax, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Colfax is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Colfax has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Patton, John, Log Cabin in Lexington, 10.3 miles away.
Colfax and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Colfax quadrangle, Illinois : 15 minute series (1958) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.