Colfax, Wisconsin
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Colfax Village. It lies in ZIP code area 54730. It stands on Eighteenmile Creek. The Survey maps it on the Colfax South quadrangle. 1,182 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 981 feet above sea level.
On record in Colfax
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Colfax Municipal Buildinglisted 2004
Population over time
2 figuresColfax grew from 1,158 to 1,182 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 | 1,158 | |
| 2020 | 1,182 | +24 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 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.
- 1934 USGS Elk Mound quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1936 USGS Elk Mound quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Eau Claire quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Eau Claire quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Eau Claire quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Colfax South quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Eau Claire quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
7 since 2018Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Colfax between 2018 and 2020, burning about 8 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 June 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 20120 |
| 2 June 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 19029 |
| 4 May 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 19019 |
| 4 May 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 19024 |
| 10 May 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 19025 |
| 24 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 18016 |
| 29 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 18013 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Colfax: 4 past producers, 2 producers, 1 occurrence. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colfax Sandstone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Colfax Gravel Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Colfax Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Ferry Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Hagberg Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Red Cedar River Gravel Pit #3 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Running Valley Creek Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
20 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colfax in 20 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 9 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 funnel cloud, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | A storm survey determined a downburst produced damage along a 4 mile long path, with a swath that broadened out to two miles wide. Winds were estimated at 75 to 85 mph. Many dozens of trees were toppled or broken. Part of a barn roof was blown off and another barn was shifted off its foundation. Two homes had some shingles blown off along with damaged fascia and gutters. A flagpole rated for 80 mph was snapped. |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | A large tree was blown down in Colfax. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Colfax | - | Flood waters closed part of the road near the intersection of Highway 170 and County Road N. |
| August 2010 | Flash Flood | Colfax | - | Significant flooding was observed across much of the northern half of Dunn County. Roads were washed out in Colfax Township, south of Colfax. More roads were washed out in Lucas Township. Several observers reported between three and six inches of rainfall overnight across the county. |
| March 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Tree down across road. |
| June 2007 | Funnel Cloud | Colfax | - | Funnel cloud occurred on the north side of Colfax. Bottom of funnel was estimated as being 500 feet off the ground. |
| June 2005 | Funnel Cloud | Colfax | - | A trained spotter reported a funnel cloud. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Tin was blown off a barn. A few trees were downed. |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Numerous trees down. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Trees down. Estimated windspeed. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | Shingles torn off roof. Few trees down. Estimated windspeed. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colfax | - | no account filed |
| September 1995 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norton | 5.8 miles | 7 | |
| Tainter Lake | 6.4 miles | 12 | |
| Rusk | 8.4 miles | 12 | |
| Elk Mound | 8.8 miles | 13 | |
| Cedar Falls | 9.3 miles | 12 | |
| Wheeler | 10.2 miles | 7 | |
| Sand Creek | 11.9 miles | 7 | |
| Menomonie Junction | 12.0 miles | 12 |
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 Q617957 | 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 1563262. 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.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, 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.






