Colfax, California

Colfax is a city in Placer County, California, at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. It is part of the Sacramento - Arden-Arcade - Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,963 at the 2010 census. The town is named in honor of U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax, a bronze statue of whom stands at Railroad Street and Grass Valley Street. . Some of the town's notable features include the newly restored Southern Pacific Railroad colonnade-style depot built in 1905, the downtown shops on Main Street, and Colfax High School, which serves a large surrounding area.HistoryOriginally inhabited by the Maidu and Miwok Indians, by the mid-19th century the city site was known as Alder Grove; however, as development increased, the city became known as Illinoistown. In April 1852, the Reelfoot Williams Gang robbed a Nevada City stagecoach of $7,000 in gold bullion near Illinoistown. This was the first stagecoach robbery in the gold country.