I had no idea there once was an actual town named Colfax until I recently came across this page on
Wikipedia:
"Colfax" was its own Municipality that incorporated in 1891 and had a
population of about 300. In 1897 Colfax was annexed to Denver.
Colfax Avenue was originally named "Golden Avenue," and was renamed in 1896 for Schuyler Colfax, who had been U.S. Vice President. West Colfax Avenue was the main street of the Town of Colfax.
In the early 1900s the area that is now known as West Colfax was
sparsely populated with several mansions and scattered squatter's
shacks. During this time West Colfax was known as "No Man's Land", and "
Jim's Town".
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries a large wave of Jewish
Immigrants from Eastern Europe moved into the West Colfax area. These
immigrants turned "No Man's Land" into Denver's version of a European
neighborhood.
During this time, West Colfax Avenue was lined with two-story brick
commercial buildings, saloons, stores, a hotel, and a restaurant. West
Colfax Avenue had a constant flow of hay wagons and peddlers that came
from the agriculture communities of Golden and Morrison en route to Denver.
In The 1920s Colfax Elementary and Lake Junior High School were built to accommodate the growing neighborhood. During the Great Depression the neighborhood saw little to no development until the 1940s and 1950s when a housing boom occurred along with the Barnum and Sloan's Lake areas.
A wave of Latinos immigrated to the neighborhood in the 1960s. Young
Anglo families immigrated to the neighborhood in the 1970s, and in the
mid 1970s a wave of Southeast Asians immigrated into the area. Today,
West Colfax is a diverse neighborhood made up of Anglo, Jewish, African
American, Latino, Native American, and Southeast Asian residents.
If anyone has more information about the town of Colfax, please write me at info(at)colfaxavenue.com. Thanks!
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