shaft produced most of the coal, but was closed in 1904. This mine remained idle for many years until being briefly re-opened as a cooperative venture between 1921 and 1924. Eventually the abandoned shaft became a rubbish dump and was eventually filled. Growth of the town Once established, Colfax grew rapidly. In 1892 a tile factory was built in the northeast corner of town; as was often the case in central Illinois, the former tile factory grounds eventually became a small park. A cigar factory was built. About the same time, a small factory for the manufacture of tin cans started production. By 1888 Colfax had a newspaper, the Colfax Leader. Electric lights came in 1895. Four churches began soon after the town was founded: Christian, Methodist, and Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic. William H. Anderson, who raised Standard Bred and Road Bred horses, had a half-mile horse track just east of town. After the mines closed, Colfax settled into a quieter life as the commercial hub of a prosperous grain-growing area. However, eastern McLean County has been an area of little population growth and the population of Colfax, which peaked in 1900, had dropped fourteen percent by 2000. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 989 people, 395 households, and 253 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 422 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.09% White, 0.51% Native American, 0.20% from other races, and 0.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.42% of the population. There were 395 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.06. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age