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History · Colfax Township

Colfax Township dates to 1869

Most of Colfax Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1931 on.

1869founded
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Colfax Township began

When was Colfax Township founded?

1869

Colfax Township dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1871.

2020 census: 446157 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.

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.
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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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The story so far

Colfax Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Colfax Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Colfax Township is a civil township of Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 446 at the 2020 census. The township was organized in 1869.

Colfax Township was established in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 462 to 446 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Colfax Township, 1869 to 1931

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingColfax Township is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Allen Creek post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904Post officeThe Allen Creek post office closes
  6. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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, 1931 to 1987

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 1931 USGS mapColfax Township on the 1959 USGS mapColfax Township on the 1987 USGS map1931Custer SE sheet · 1:31,680

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 →
B
Bull WagnerAmerican baseball player · b. 1887
J
Jim LitesAmerican sports executive · b. 1954
D
D. Stanley CoorsAmerican bishop · b. 1889
L
LeRoy HemingerAmerican football coach and college athletics a… · b. 1914
W
Walter M. FrenchAssociate Justice of the Washington Supreme Cou… · b. 1874
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Allen Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Colfax
Gone or out of use
Allencreek Post Officepost officeGilbert Lake Oil Fieldoilfield
1cemetery inside Colfax Township
Colfax

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Crystal Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLogan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeavitt TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTroy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Colfax Township’s history

What year was Colfax Township founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Colfax Township’s post office opened in 1871.

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.