The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Colfax was laid out in 1849 by Montgomery Stroud. It was originally named Midway for its position between Chicago and Louisville along the IC&L railroad. In 1853 the town gained a post office named Colfax, and in December 1857 the name of the town itself became Colfax, by petition of the residents. By 1861 the town had two churches, two general stores, a hotel, a saw mill and approximately 200 residents.
An incorporation election held December 25, 1869, resulted in 24 yeas and 1 no. The town had 187 residents in 1870, but with the construction of the Vandalia railroad through town in 1870-71 it grew quickly and by 1880 had a population of 638.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Colfax’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colfax’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Colfax
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Colfax, decade by decade
2000
2 historic places in Colfax
2 places in Colfax are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.