The construction of the river canals effectively stopped the problems faced by annual flooding in Colfax. The first two times the canal proposal was brought to a vote, it was turned down. Finally, in 1960, the bond was approved and the Palouse River was diverted and it now flows through several 8 to 12-foot-deep channels. Note that the courthouse is in the back left corner (windows of the jail). The river was diverted to the other side of the courthouse.

Image courtesy of Whitman County Rural Heritage and Allen Johannesen.
http://www.washingtonruralheritage.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/whitman/id/3214/rec/108