Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Colfax (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Colfax. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Colfax is located in Dunn County.
To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dunn County: Barron, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk & Saint Croix.
Below are the counties that are near Colfax. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colfax:
- Dunn County (The home county of Colfax)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Tainter Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tainter Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
- Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
- Elk Mound
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Wheeler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Menomonie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Falls City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falls City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
- Falls City is located in Dunn County
- Boyceville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyceville
- Boyceville is located in Dunn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Ridgeland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest) - Knapp
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knapp
- Knapp is located in Dunn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
- Meridean
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridean
- Meridean is located in Dunn County
- Rock Falls
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Falls
- Rock Falls is located in Dunn County
- Downing
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Downing is located in Dunn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Dunnville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnville
- Dunnville is located in Dunn County
- Barron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Dallas
(18 miles [29 km] to the north) - Prairie Farm
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Farm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Chetek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north) - Barron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Cameron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north) - Twin Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest) - Poskin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Buffalo County
- Chippewa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Albertville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albertville
- Albertville is located in Chippewa County
- Bloomer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Irvine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Chippewa Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Falls
- Chippewa Falls is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,407 people
- New Auburn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Auburn
- New Auburn is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Lake Hallie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Hallie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hallie
- Lake Hallie is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,779 people
- Eagleton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Lake Wissota
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Wissota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wissota
- Lake Wissota is located in Chippewa County
- Drywood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drywood
- Drywood is located in Chippewa County
- Cadott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east) - Cornell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Eau Claire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Eau Claire
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eau Claire
- Eau Claire is located in Eau Claire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69,087 people
- Shawtown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Lufkin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufkin
- Lufkin is located in Eau Claire County
- Seymour
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast) - Altoona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast) - Fall Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fall Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Creek
- Fall Creek is located in Eau Claire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,291 people
- Allen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Allen is located in Eau Claire County
- Pepin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Durand
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durand
- Durand is located in Pepin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,789 people
- Arkansaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansaw
- Arkansaw is located in Pepin County
- Pierce County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Elmwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest) - Spring Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
- Olivet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Croix County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Glenwood City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenwood City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood City
- Glenwood City is located in Saint Croix County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
- Wilson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Wilson is located in Saint Croix County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Hersey
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersey
- Hersey is located in Saint Croix County
- Woodville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Woodville is located in Saint Croix County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,351 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colfax, see our County-by-County Page for Colfax.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Colfax ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colfax.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Colfax. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Colfax and those printed in the larger area surrounding Colfax.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Colfax.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Colfax:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/
- Pages specific to Dunn County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barron County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Buffalo County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Chippewa County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Eau Claire County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Pepin County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Pierce County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Saint Croix County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Barron County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Dunn County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Dunn County
Cemeteries Near Colfax ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colfax.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Colfax covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Evergreen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
- Hill Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hill Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hill Grove Cemetery
- Lower Running Valley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lower Running Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lower Running Valley Cemetery
- Norton Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norton Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Cooks Valley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cooks Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cooks Valley Cemetery
- Otter Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otter Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otter Creek Cemetery
- Cedar Falls Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Falls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Falls Cemetery
- Popple Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Popple Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Popple Creek Cemetery
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
- Upper Popple Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Upper Popple Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Upper Popple Creek Cemetery
- Potters Field Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potters Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potters Field Cemetery
- St. John Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John Cemetery
- Continue List (159 more) ...
- Iron Creek Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Iron Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Iron Creek Cemetery
- Evergreen Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
- Tollebu Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tollebu Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tollebu Cemetery
- Iron Creek Cemetery
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Colfax had a population of 269 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Colfax had a population of 1,151 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Cedar Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Cedar Falls is located in Dunn County
- Rusk
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Elk Mound
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Wheeler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Menomonie Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menomonie Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menomonie Junction
- Menomonie Junction is located in Dunn County
- Menomonie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Sand Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Sand Creek is located in Dunn County
- North Menomonie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Menomonie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Menomonie
- North Menomonie is located in Dunn County
- Truax
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Irvine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Boyceville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyceville
- Boyceville is located in Dunn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Shawtown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Continue List (14 more) ...
- Eau Claire
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eau Claire
- Eau Claire is located in Eau Claire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69,087 people
- Chippewa Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Falls
- Chippewa Falls is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,407 people
- Eagle Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
- Eagle Point is located in Chippewa County
- Eau Claire
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colfax. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colfax.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Colfax. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dunn County: www.dunncountywi.govoffice2.com/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Colfax) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Colfax. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.9969, Longitude: -91.7260 In this case, the coordinates for Colfax have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Colfax, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |