The town is named in honor of U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax, a bronze statue of whom stands at Railroad Street and Grass Valley Street. Landmarks include Colfax station, Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad and California State Route 174. Colfax is the birthplace of Terry Riley, composer and musician.
Colfax, California gifts and souvenirs: 32 designs made from Colfax's own map, landmarks and history, from $10 to $99. Printed to order and shipped free in the USA.
| Popular | Price |
|---|---|
| Colfax Hometown Ornament | $23 |
| Colfax Vintage Travel Poster | from $40 |
| Colfax Varsity Crewneck | from $57 |
| Colfax Est. Tee | from $33 |
| Colfax Town Line Mug | from $26 |
| Colfax Market Tote | $37 |
Ceramic keepsake, gold ribbon, in 4 styles
Its landmark photo in a classic travel-poster layout
A local landmark photo as a gallery print
Classic large-letter postcard art, filled with local photos
Six local landmarks as instant photos on kraft paper
Map of local landmarks, washable fabric
Heavy-blend fleece, street map printed on the back
Red heavy-blend crewneck, knit-stitch town print
Soft Bella+Canvas jersey
Kids' Bella+Canvas jersey, youth sizes
Bella+Canvas toddler jersey
Bella+Canvas baby bodysuit
Large-letter postcard art filled with local photos
Glossy ceramic, dishwasher safe
Large-letter postcard art filled with local photos, 11 oz ceramic
Weatherproof, for the front walk
24″×16″, printed coir-look fibers, rubber back
12″×12″ printed wood, ready to hang
Soft-touch, zip cover
A local landmark photo with the town name, 18″×18″
Sturdy all-over-print tote
Large-letter postcard art on a sturdy tote
Foam-front trucker, printed (not embroidered) with local photos
Glossy top, cork back
Soft fleece, 50″×60″
Six local landmarks as instant photos, soft fleece 50″×60″
20 oz, double-wall stainless
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
The town's earliest Sanborn fire-insurance map, drawn building by building and hand-coloured, from the Library of Congress
From the Library of Congress collections: a historic survey drawing or photograph of the town
Population 1880: 591 → 2010: 1,963 → 2020: 1,995
From Wikidata (CC0).
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.
The city was renamed Colfax after then Speaker of the House (and later Vice President) Schuyler Colfax who visited the town in 1865 while inspecting progress of construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad. The city was the southern terminus of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad from 1876 until the railroad's removal in 1942. Historic U.S. Route 40 also runs through the city as well as the more modern Interstate 80. The city is mentioned in Jules Verne’s book Around the World in Eighty Days.
On August 4, 2021, the River Fire started in the Bear River Campground, forcing thousands of residents on both the Placer and Nevada county sides of the river to evacuate. The fire was contained nine days later after burning over 2,600 acres (11 km2) and dozens of homes.
In December 2021, the city was placed under a state of emergency due to severe snow storms. More than 575,000 metered electric customers in Northern California were without power at some point during the storm, with about 141,000 still without power one month after the first major outage. The mayor at the time, Trinity Burruss, urged citizens to help each other and deputized some of her family members to run snowplows in order to get roads cleared.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Colfax, California, revision 1373554799 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
We share a part of every Colfax sale with local partners, and we'd love to print from your collection. Old photographs, maps and postcards make the best keepsakes.
Partner with usA favorite landmark, your street, a school or team, an anniversary gift, a different product. Tell us and we'll get back to you by email.
6 free coloring pages of Colfax, each traced from a photo of a local landmark. Print them at home, at school or for story hour.
Colfax's population was 1,995 in the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 591 in 1880.
Colfax station
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad
Colfax Freight Depot
A view of Colfax