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History · Colfax Township

20% of Colfax Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1890.

0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

Where Colfax Township’s name came from

How did Colfax Township get its name?

Colfax Township was named for Vice President Schuyler Colfax.

Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Colfax Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Colfax Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 306 in 1920; 155 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Colfax Township’s homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Colfax Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colfax Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Colfax Township, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 306

Peaked at 306 in 1920; 155 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Colfax Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Colfax Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colfax Township.

Read it all →

Colfax Township was established in 1871. It was named for Vice President Schuyler Colfax.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Colfax Township on the map, 1962 to 1991

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colfax Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Colfax Township on the 1962 USGS mapColfax Township on the 1980 USGS mapColfax Township on the 1991 USGS map1962Fair Oaks sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Colfax Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Colfax Township

Nobody well known was born in Colfax Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sam RiceAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
Steve BuyerAmerican politician · b. 1958
Augustus PhillipsAmerican actor · b. 1874
Charles A. HalleckAmerican politician · b. 1900
Tom HarmonAmerican football player and sportscaster · b. 1919
Eleanor Stackhouse AtkinsonAmerican author, journalist and teacher · b. 1863
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

McClellan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLincoln TownshipIts storyDJackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeaver Township2 historic placesA

Questions about Colfax Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.