Colfax brings together architecture, local history, and a variety of landscape features. Main Street, the Codger Pole, and St. Ignatius Hospital offer different historical perspectives; the Colfax Trail and the golf course at Colfax Golf and Country Club add trails and sports to the mix. When choosing a focus for your stay, you can therefore choose between buildings and local history or landscapes and golf.

Architecture and Local History

Four blocks of Main Street are part of the Colfax Main Street Historic District. The District is lined with stately buildings made of brick, stucco, and granite. The reference to four blocks gives the architecture theme a tangible scope; the three building materials also make clear what the description of the buildings is based on. If you want to make historic architecture the focus of your trip, the District is a clear Colfax highlight: this is where a section of Main Street and its buildings take center stage.

The Codger Pole offers a different historical perspective. It is a monument in downtown Colfax commemorating a 1938 football game. This focuses on a single event, whereas the Main Street Historic District is defined by several blocks and their building materials. When choosing a cultural focus, you can distinguish between architectural history and the commemoration of a particular sporting event.

The Perkins House and Cabin adds a historic site you can visit to the local history. Visits are possible on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the house is seasonally closed from December 22 through March. Plan around these hours and check visiting times before you arrive. This lets you take the specific visiting hours into account if you want the house to be a fixed part of your itinerary.

St. Ignatius Hospital also tells the story of Colfax: it was built in 1893 by the Sisters of Charity, now known as the Sisters of Providence. Together with the Codger Pole, which commemorates a 1938 game, it offers two distinct historical reference points: the hospital’s construction and the memory of a football game. The dates help distinguish these topics chronologically.

Trails and Golf

The Colfax Trail offers a landscape and route perspective. The 2.5-mile unpaved trail follows a former railroad through a natural corridor along the banks of the Palouse River. When choosing between the trail and Main Street, the type of focus is what matters: here, the description is shaped by the route’s length, surface, former railroad alignment, and riverside setting. The former railroad connects a historical reference with the natural corridor along the river.

The golf course at Colfax Golf and Country Club adds a sporting option. It was first laid out in 1927, has nine holes, and is located on the flat in the gently rolling North Palouse River valley. Unlike the Colfax Trail, the focus here is golf, the number of holes, and the course’s history. The rivers are also identified differently: the trail follows the Palouse River, while the golf course is on the North Palouse River.

Discover more destinations: Malden, Pullman.

View the main travel guide: Whitman County.