BlockColfax, Illinois
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1957 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Martin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61728. It stands on Colfax Creek. The Survey maps it on the Colfax quadrangle. 996 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 758 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresColfax fell from 1,061 to 996 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,061 | |
| 2020 | 996 | -65 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1957 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:62500
- 1958 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Fairbury quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:24000
- 1990 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
In the county-history sources
1,558 words on this townshipThe Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois : Containing Two Hundred and Sixty-one Sketches of Old Settlers, a Complete Historical Sketch of the Black Hawk War and Descriptions of All Matters of Interest Relating to McLean County, published 1874 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Martin Township covers the township.
Read the chapter on Martin Township - 1,558 words.
Storms near this place
23 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colfax in 23 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 12 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 3 tornado, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2018 | Tornado (EF1) | Colfax | $110,000 | A tornado touched down 3 miles west of Colfax at 7:42 PM CST. It destroyed outbuildings and damaged trees before quickly dissipating 3.1 miles west-northwest of Colfax at 7:44 PM CST. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | $60,000 | A wind farm office trailer was destroyed. A large tree was blown down on Grove Street damaging a home. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Colfax | $50,000 | The tornado formed in an open field northwest of Colfax and tracked to the southeast. The tornado ripped off one fourth of the roof of a home on the northwest side of Colfax and damaged several trees. As the tornado continued southeast into Colfax, it caused minor damage to the roofs of three more homes and one business, as well as several trees. The tornado dissipated within the town of Colfax. The wind speeds with the tornado were estimated as high as 85 MPH. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | $45,000 | A barn was reported destroyed 3 miles north of Colfax, as well as minor damage to a house. The contents of the barn, including two loaded wagons, hay, straw and a antique potato planter, were all lost. Total damage for the location was estimated around $45,000. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | $40,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Colfax. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | $10,000 | Powerlines were blown down around Colfax, resulting in approximately 600 people losing power. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | $2,000 | A large tree limb was blown down across a road just south of Colfax. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Numerous large tree limbs were blown down. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Large trees were blown onto power lines. |
| April 2022 | Tornado (EFU) | Colfax | - | A tornado touched down in an open field south of 1800 North and just west of North 3200 East Road about 3 miles southwest of Colfax at 6:46 PM CDT. It tracked north-northeastward and became shrouded in rain before quickly dissipating by 6:47 PM CDT. No damage was observed. |
| July 2022 | Flash Flood | Colfax | - | Roads flooded in town and some flooding on private property. Ridgeview School Building had 3 feet of water in the basement classrooms, and other parts of building had water too. Public reported rainfall of 4.75 inches during the event. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Significant tree damage in town. Numerous tree limbs down on cars, and two houses with trees through roof. Power lines also down. Large trees uprooted. |
| September 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | A 2-foot diameter healthy tree was blown down near the intersection of Fifer Street and Hyatt Street. Several large tree limbs were blown onto power lines across town. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Colfax | - | Thunderstorms produced more than 4.00 of rain in 90 minutes across a small part of northeast McLean County. Many rural roads from Lexington to Cooksville to Colfax were impassable through the late evening hours of June 14th. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | A few trees and power lines were blown down. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Several trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Two large trees were blown down. One fell onto a house causing minor damage, but no injuries. |
| September 2021 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchor | 4.3 miles | 11 | |
| Cooksville | 5.6 miles | 11 | |
| Pleasant Hill | 7.6 miles | 11 | |
| Cropsey | 7.9 miles | 14 | |
| Arrowsmith | 8.1 miles | 12 | |
| Fletcher | 9.3 miles | 14 | |
| Ellsworth | 9.6 miles | 12 | |
| Lexington | 10.2 miles | 14 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Colfax | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2224961 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 406362. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.