Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Colfax Passenger Depot and the Colfax Freight Depot. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1880.
The Colfax post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1910. Another post office, Illinoistown (1853), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colfax is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Colfax’s 8.3 sits above most of its state (91% of California towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1898Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Colfax.
The area was initially denoted as "Camp 20" along the route of the transcontinental railroad. in July 1865, the Pacific Railroad Company (later to become the Union Pacific Railroad), purchased land along the railroad route near Illinoistown, and surveyed it into lots, and lots were offered for sale on July 29.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Colfax, cut from the printed page as they were published.
miles northeast of Auburn, and is another of the many towns that sprang into existence upon the completion of the great overland railroad. The rails reached Colfax September 1, 1865, and regular trains were running on the 4th of that month. The town of Colfax was laid out in 1865 by the Central Pacific Railroad Company. The site was subsequently sold to Messrs. Ivohn & Kind, and a sale of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
22d of May, 1865, cars commenced running to the present station on the outskirts of Auburn, and this remained the depot until Clipper Gap was reached in June. The town of Colfax was laid out early in July on land belonging to the railroad company, and lots sold at auction. Early in September the road was completed to that point, and it became an important business place. The railroad was now
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
22d of May, 1865, cara commenced running to the resent station on the outskirts of Auburn, and ths rem ıınod the depot until Clipper Gap was reached in June The town of Colfax was laid out early ın July on land belonging to the »a111023 company and lots sold at auction Еау in September the 10ad was completed to that powt, and it became an important business place The raulroıd was now
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Within half а mile of where Colfax now stands 18 1e old settlement of Illinoistown and when Colfax as laid out in 1865 ıt gathered to itself all that wa.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveColfax, looking East. Cape Horn 4 miles, Giant's Gap 20 miles distant.Alternate Title: Sc…
In the archiveColfax 1902
In the archiveColfax
Born hereTerry Riley is born here
In the archiveZan 2262 - Colfax Hotel, Colfax, Calif
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colfax. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Colfax.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Colfax’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 591 people in 1880 to 1,995 in 2020, 3 times over.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Colfax’s Wikipedia page.
Colfax’s post office has been open since 1866. Another post office, Illinoistown, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Colfax post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1910.
Colfax is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Two places: the Colfax Passenger Depot (listed 1999) and the Colfax Freight Depot (1999).
14% of Colfax’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1987.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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