After losing out on a bid to buy the Rosenberger Building, the Colfax Historical Society found another site which they hoped would house a local history museum in the future. That was in 2019.
The proposed new site is the former Colfax American Legion Post 439 at the corner of Main and Meridian. It had been unoccupied for six years when a pizza business left the building.
Once again, the project stalled somewhat for various reasons. However with a recent grant of $4,418 from the Clinton County Community Foundation that will be used to install flooring in a donated building that will serve as a larger, more welcoming venue to view the community’s history as well as be accessible to Clinton County residents for events, the hope is the building will be up and going this summer.
“We are about to open our events phase, but the museum space is a few months away for us,” said Colfax Historical Society President Amanda Boksa. “We’re hoping we’ll be open by the first of August.”
Boksa added they may allow some people like their members to walk through and see what is going on.
“We will have a ribbon cutting,” said Boksa. “We will also have a dinner to recognize our major donors and our grant donors.”
In fact, the community foundation grant award was made possible with funds from the Robert and Martha Lucas Hall Family Endowment.
In retrospect, it might have been a blessing the group didn’t get the Rosenberger because it was built in approximately 1865 and a ton of work to do on it. The American Legion building was built in the 60s and was much more up to date plus the Legion took good care of the property.
Much of Colfax’s local history was archived and on display at the Colfax Perry Township Public Library. Colfax has changed over the years, and the library has grown, but a museum with adequate space to grow the collection is needed.
“We’re hoping our museum will end up as an interactive and more of a immersive experience,” said Boksa. “We want to have some things in electronics, do some oral histories so people can hear the stories from the people of Colfax and their memories.”
Boksa added they will have some items from Miller’s Restaurant because of its impact on the community.
If anyone is interested in helping with the project, including donations, they can call they can email [email protected] or they can call Boksa at 765-324-2915, extension 100.