Study deems 54 downtown Colfax buildings 'historic'

Ann Sharley reports on her study of downtown Colfax buildings, noting 54 which qualify as historic.

Tables in The Center were covered with charts and maps from different eras of downtown Colfax Aug. 30 when Ann Sharley gave her report on the study of downtown buildings which was conducted last spring for the Colfax Historic Preservation Commission.

Sharley's report included photos and a page-by-page description of buildings in the downtown area.

The study was funded with a $10,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation to the local commission.

Sharley noted the grant funds derive from the National Parks Service and are funneled to local entities from the state office.

Colfax qualified for the grant after achieving Local Certified Government status.

Formal name of the study was "Historical Buildings Survey in the City of Colfax Central Business District.”

Sharley did the study as a member of the staff of Architectural History and Archaeology, LLC, a cultural resources firm in the Spokane Valley.

She did most of the photography and visited the buildings during early spring.

Sharley noted when the firm undertakes this type of study for smaller cities and towns the hours consumed usually mean they take a loss on the funding.

She credited Frank White, Claudia Rollins and Patti Cammack, three members of the local preservation commission, with doing extensive research work on the project. The study includes individual history of the buildings and historical photographs. They also reviewed drafts of the report.

The actual report totals 32 pages, but a lot of the information on the buildings is included in an appendix which extends another 60 pages.

The study included 60 buildings and found 54 of them qualify as historical buildings aged 50 years and older. That includes 52 commercial buildings, the library and the post office.

Sharley noted the report includes some buildings which no longer stand in downtown Colfax. Those buildings were researched by the local commissioners and were added in the final draft, but they were not included in the final count of buildings.

Colfax was platted in 1872 and was first called Bellevillle by James A. Perkins. It was later named Colfax in honor of Schuyler Colfax, then serving as vice president.

Colfax sustained fires in 1881, 1882, and 1891 and after the fires reconstruction, when possible, was done with bricks. Most buildings in the downtown area were constructed in the 1880s until the 1920s.

The largest reproduction photo on display last week was a tabletop-sized photo of Main Street Colfax taken in 1885. That showed the wooden mode of the early buildings before the central area gradually reappeared in its present brick mode.

Of the 54 historic buildings in the downtown area, 36 were recommended eligible for listing in the Colfax Register of Historic Places.

The study noted a number of buildings in the downtown area are vacant or partially vacant and that means they generally continue to deteriorate because funds cannot be found for their preservation.

Copies of the report are available at city hall and expected to be placed in the library.