Colfax, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Colfax, Illinois
Village
Location in McLean County, Illinois
Colfax, Illinois Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	McLean
Township	Martin
Area
• Total	0.55 sq mi (1.43 km2)
• Land	0.55 sq mi (1.43 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	755 ft (230 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	996
• Density	1,801.08/sq mi (694.82/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	61728
Area code(s)	309
FIPS code	17-15495
GNIS ID	2398598
Wikimedia Commons	Colfax, Illinois

Colfax is a small village located in McLean County, Illinois, in the United States. In 2020, about 996 people lived there. It's part of the larger area around the cities of Bloomington and Normal.

Geography

Colfax is located at coordinates 40°33′59″N 88°36′55″W / 40.56639°N 88.61528°W / 40.56639; -88.61528. The village covers an area of about 0.55 square miles (1.43 square kilometers), and all of it is land.

History of Colfax

How Colfax Started

Colfax was officially started on March 22, 1880, by a man named James E. Wood. He was born in Indiana and moved to McLean County around 1855. James Wood was a farmer and a banker, and he always worked hard to help Colfax grow. People in the area often called him "Uncle Billy."

At first, the northeastern parts of McLean County didn't have railroads. After many tries, the Clinton, Bloomington, and Northwestern Railroad began building tracks from Kankakee, Illinois. Local farmers helped by giving money and land for the railroad. Other towns like Cropsey, Anchor, and Cooksville were also started around the same time as Colfax.

The very first train arrived in Colfax on July 4, 1880. For two years, the tracks only went from Kankakee to Colfax. A special turntable was used to turn the trains around to go back east. Eventually, the tracks were finished all the way to Bloomington. This railroad soon became part of the Illinois Central system. Colfax is one of several towns in the United States named after Schuyler Colfax, who was the Vice President for President Grant.

Early Town Design and Growth

The original town of Colfax was shaped like a rectangle on the north side of the railroad tracks. It had twelve blocks with small lots and four larger blocks on the western edge. In total, there were one hundred lots. These lots faced a wide area of railroad land. Main Street, which ran next to the tracks, was wider than other streets.

The train station was on the north side of the tracks. Early businesses like the grain elevator, lumber yard, and stock yard were on the south side. William Rinker opened the first store, selling groceries. Another grocery store, Wilson and Santee, opened soon after. The third store was a bigger, two-story building owned by D.A. Green. He sold groceries, dry goods, and medicines.

The Coal Mines

In 1886, a company was formed to open the first of two coal mines in Colfax. The first mine shaft was dug just west of town. The workers faced many problems, like water flooding the shaft and parts of the mine caving in. They also had to blast through hard limestone layers to reach the coal. The railroad couldn't bring enough wood to support the shaft, so more timber had to be brought in by wagons.

At 140 feet (43 meters) deep, they found a small amount of coal. But they had to dig down to 392 feet (119 meters) before finding a good, thick layer of coal, about 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) thick. Miners were hired, and the first coal was taken out in June 1888. However, the mine soon had money problems and changed owners often.

A second mine shaft, east of town, began being planned in December 1891. But digging didn't start until June 1894. This east shaft also had big problems with water and quicksand. After many delays and a lot of pumping, coal was found in 1895. But money troubles again delayed production for two years.

About 200 miners came to Colfax, but there weren't enough homes for them. Many small miner's cottages had to be built to solve this problem. Some of these cottages can still be seen in Colfax today. The mines continued to have financial difficulties. In 1901 and 1902, almost 60,000 tons of coal were taken from the mines. But money problems soon caused production to slow down.

Once the mines were open, workers formed unions, and strikes happened. Mining in Colfax was very tough and dangerous work. Sadly, some miners lost their lives due to accidents, mostly from falling rocks. The west mine produced most of the coal but closed in 1904. It stayed closed for many years. It briefly reopened as a cooperative effort between 1921 and 1924. Eventually, the abandoned shaft was filled in and became a rubbish dump.

Colfax Grows and Changes

After it was established, Colfax grew quickly. In 1892, a factory that made tiles was built in the northeast part of town. Like in many places in central Illinois, the old tile factory grounds later became a small park. A factory that made cigars was also built. Around the same time, a small factory started making tin cans.

By 1888, Colfax had its own newspaper, called the Colfax Leader. Electric lights came to the town in 1895. Four churches were started soon after the town was founded: Christian, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic. William H. Anderson, who raised special kinds of horses, had a half-mile horse track just east of town.

After the coal mines closed, Colfax became a quieter place. It served as the main business center for the surrounding area, which was good for growing grain. However, the eastern part of McLean County has not seen much population growth. The population of Colfax reached its highest point in 1900. By 2000, it had dropped by fourteen percent.

Colfax Population Data

According to the census from 2000, there were 989 people living in Colfax. There were 395 households, and 253 of these were families. The population density was about 1,829 people per square mile (706 people per square kilometer). There were 422 housing units in the village.

About 28.4% of households had children under 18 living with them. Most households (55.7%) were married couples living together. The average household had 2.39 people, and the average family had 3.06 people.

The population was spread out by age. About 25.3% were under 18 years old. About 23.0% were 65 years or older. The average age in the village was 40 years.

See also

In Spanish: Colfax (Illinois) para niños