Colfax, Iowa

Colfax, Iowa
City
Downtown Colfax, Iowa
Location of Colfax, Iowa
Country	USA
State	Iowa
County	Jasper
Incorporated	August 10, 1875
Area
• Total	1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2)
• Land	1.4 sq mi (3.5 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	801 ft (244 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,223
• Density	1,632.4/sq mi (630.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	50054
Area code	515
FIPS code	19-15060
GNIS feature ID	0455527

Colfax is a city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. The town was founded in 1866, and was named for Schuyler Colfax, vice-president with U.S. Grant. The population was 2,223 at the 2000 census.

History

In its heyday, the city of Colfax had two main industries that drew thousands to the area: the mining of coal, and the use of the mineral springs discovered near the city.

The first large scale coal mine in Jasper County was the Watson No. 1 Mine, 5 miles southeast of town, connected to the Rock Island by a long railroad spur. From 1881 to 1900, the Jasper County Coal and Railway Company operated a number of mines north of Colfax. The Colfax Consolidated Coal Company formed in 1902, bringing the mines of Colfax under a common operator. They opened mine No. 8 in 1905; this was one of the best equipped mines in the state. The coal camp of Severs was run by this company.

In 1912, the United Mine Workers union had two locals based in Colfax, Local 56, with 350 members, and Local 671, with 230 members.

In the process of drilling for coal in 1875, a well containing high mineral content was discovered near Colfax. The city flourished with this new discovery, and over the next four decades, thousands of people visited the town to partake in the healing powers of the fourteen mineral springs there. Nine hotels offering mineral baths and spa treatments opened to house guests, and four bottling companies opened to produce bottled mineral water for the masses. In 1912–1913, the city received funding to build a Carnegie library. The library is still in use today. The booming business of the city's mineral springs industry declined and died out as the Great Depression swept the country.

Map of Colfax from 1908, showing the railroads and coal mines (shown in red) of the region.

Geography

Colfax's longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 41.675731, −93.244384. Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²), of which, 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (1.45%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,223 people, 837 households, and 585 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,632.4 people per square mile (631.1/km²). There were 908 housing units at an average density of 666.8 per square mile (257.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.25% White, 0.49% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.18% Asian, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.

There were 837 households out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,006, and the median income for a family was $48,300. Males had a median income of $35,326 versus $22,150 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,662. About 5.2% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• James Norman Hall (1887–1951) author best known for the novel Mutiny on the Bounty
• Herschel F. Briles, United States Army soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor

External links

• Chamber of Commerce website
• City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Colfax
• [1] The local school's pornsite