Colfax was a short-lived communal farming community—now a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

–in Fremont County (now Custer County),

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the w ...

(now the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. the town was originally named after

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Schuyler Colfax.

History

Colfax was founded in 1870 as a communal settlement of 397 German immigrants led by General Carl Wulsten. The colonists had been organized by the German Colonization society of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It was the first non-indigenous community in the

Wet Mountain Valley The Wet Mountain Valley is a high elevation mountain valley mostly located in Custer County but extending southward into Huerfano County in south-central Colorado. Westcliffe and Silver Cliff are the two towns in the valley which is mostly de ...

in what is now

Custer County, Colorado Custer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,704. The county seat is Westcliffe. History Custer County was created by the Colorado legislature on March 9, 1877, out of the southe ...

. The principal activities were farming and cheesemaking. The communal effort failed after a frost and the settlers left the town. However, many of the settlers remained in the area as ranchers and farmers.Gayle Turk (1975) ''Wet Mountain Valley'', Colorado Springs: Little London Press, p.6.

References

Ghost towns in Colorado Former populated places in Custer County, Colorado Populated places established in 1870 1870 establishments in Colorado Territory {{US-ghost-town-stub

History

See also

References