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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.

Colfax within Dunn County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Colfax 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,158
20201,182+24 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

7 since 2018

Regional 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 burning6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 June 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources20120
2 June 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources19029
4 May 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources19019
4 May 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources19024
10 May 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources19025
24 April 2018Debris and open burning6.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources18016
29 March 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources18013

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Dunn County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Colfax Sandstone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Colfax Gravel DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Colfax Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Ferry PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hagberg PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Red Cedar River Gravel Pit #3Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Running Valley Creek Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Dunn County

Storms near this place

20 since 1995

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2025Thunderstorm WindColfax-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 2018Thunderstorm WindColfax-A large tree was blown down in Colfax.
July 2015Flash FloodColfax-Flood waters closed part of the road near the intersection of Highway 170 and County Road N.
August 2010Flash FloodColfax-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 2007Thunderstorm WindColfax-Tree down across road.
June 2007Funnel CloudColfax-Funnel cloud occurred on the north side of Colfax. Bottom of funnel was estimated as being 500 feet off the ground.
June 2005Funnel CloudColfax-A trained spotter reported a funnel cloud.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindColfax-Tin was blown off a barn. A few trees were downed.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindColfax-Numerous trees down.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindColfax-Trees down. Estimated windspeed.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindColfax-Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindColfax-Shingles torn off roof. Few trees down. Estimated windspeed.
July 2023HailColfax-no account filed
September 2016HailColfax-no account filed
May 2013HailColfax-no account filed
May 2008HailColfax-no account filed
June 2005HailColfax-no account filed
April 2002HailColfax-no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindColfax-no account filed
September 1995HailColfax-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dunn County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Norton5.8 miles7
Tainter Lake6.4 miles12
Rusk8.4 miles12
Elk Mound8.8 miles13
Cedar Falls9.3 miles12
Wheeler10.2 miles7
Sand Creek11.9 miles7
Menomonie Junction12.0 miles12

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 ColfaxAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q617957The 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.