First Transcontinental Railroad—Colfax

Placer County · Colfax Caboose Museum, Colfax · location approximate

Central Pacific rails reached Colfax, formerly Illinoistown, September 1, 1865, and train service began four days later. Colfax was a vital construction supply depot and junction point for stage lines for ten months. It was renamed by Governor Stanford in honor of Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of Representatives and later Ulysses S. Grant's Vice President. The real assault on the Sierra began here.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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