About Colfax
Our town, our history
Colfax is the parish seat of Grant Parish, Louisiana — a small town with deep roots along the Red River.
Since 1869
A brief history
Colfax was founded in 1869 and incorporated in 1878. It serves as the parish seat of Grant Parish. The town was named for U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax, while Grant Parish was named for President Ulysses S. Grant.
The 2020 census recorded a population of 1,428. Today Colfax remains a center of parish government, commerce and community life, and is known regionally for the Louisiana Pecan Festival.
Reconstruction history
Remembering 1873
In 1873, Colfax was the site of the Colfax Massacre, in which a large number of Black residents were killed during a violent dispute over the contested outcome of a state election. It is recognized as one of the most significant acts of racial violence of the Reconstruction era, and it shaped the course of federal civil rights enforcement in the years that followed.
The Town acknowledges this history as an important part of the record of Reconstruction that our community and the nation continue to study, teach and remember with respect for those who lost their lives.
Gallery
Life in Colfax
Louisiana Pecan Festival Country Store, Colfax
Grant Parish Library, Colfax
Colfax City Hall, 1208 Main Street