Colfax, Louisiana

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Colfax (pronounced COLL FAX) is a town in and the parish seat of Grant Parish, Louisiana. It is 76 miles SW of Monroe, Louisiana (center to center) and 190 miles NW of New Orleans, Louisiana.

History
The town, founded in 1869, is named for the vice president of the United States, Schuyler M. Colfax, who served in the first term of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, for whom the parish is named.

The Colfax Riot
"On April 13, 1873, violence erupted in Colfax, Louisiana. The White League, a paramilitary group intent on securing white rule in Louisiana, clashed with Louisiana's almost all-black state militia. The resulting death toll was staggering."


 * PBS American Experience: The Colfax Massacre
 * Atlantic Monthly