Fort Collins
Fort Collins is a home rule city in northern Colorado, serving as the county seat and most populous municipality of Larimer County. It lies along the Cache la Poudre River, in the eastern foothills of the Front Range, at an elevation of 5,004 feet (1,525 metres), 55 miles (89 km) north of Denver. It is the fourth-most populous city in Colorado, with a population of 169,810 at the 2020 census, while the Fort Collins Metropolitan Statistical Area has an estimated 375,000 residents. The city is nicknamed the "Choice City" and is home to Colorado State University, a vibrant craft brewing scene, and one of the most developed bicycle infrastructure networks in the United States. Fort Collins was founded as an Army camp in 1864 and has since developed into a regional hub for education, business, culture, and recreation.
History
Indigenous Peoples and Early Settlement
Prior to the arrival of white settlers in the mid-nineteenth century, the Cache la Poudre valley was the home of the Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne people. The Northern Arapaho were centered in the Cache la Poudre River Valley near present-day Fort Collins; Friday, who attended school in St. Louis, Missouri in his youth, was a leader of the band of Arapahos as well as an interpreter, negotiator, and peacemaker. In May 1860, rancher Robert Strauss arrived near present-day Fort Collins and established his home on land that held the council tree; Strauss had an amiable relationship with the local Arapaho leader known to English speakers as Friday, and even though Strauss considered himself owner of the land, he did not dispute the Arapaho presence on it.
Military Origins
In 1862, Camp Collins was built by the ninth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry to protect travelers and settlers along the Colorado branch of the Overland Trail. A flood in June 1864 sent the soldiers to higher ground near present-day Old Town. The name "Camp Collins" was given to the post by General James Craig in honor of Lt. Col. William O. Collins, the able and popular commander of Ohio Cavalry troops whose headquarters were at Fort Laramie. On August 20, 1864, Col. Collins signed the order setting aside the present location of Fort Collins as the new military reservation, where the danger of flooding would be less and sufficient land was available without interfering with the claims of individuals — it is August 20 that the Fort Collins Historical Society honors as the celebration of Fort Collins' birthday.
In October of 1864 the new post was ready for occupation and the term "Fort Collins" was used instead of "Camp Collins" in the order book, although there seems to have been no official order for the change. For almost two years Fort Collins remained a military post until the last soldiers were evacuated in September 1866. During this period, a key figure in early community life was Elizabeth "Auntie" Stone. Later that same year, Elizabeth "Auntie" Stone arrived at Camp Collins; she and her husband Judge Lewis Stone opened a mess hall for the soldiers, and for an entire year, Elizabeth Stone was the only European-American woman in the camp, with the soldiers and officers stationed there nicknaming her Auntie Stone. She expanded the mess hall, creating the first hotel in the city, and also encouraged her niece Elizabeth Parke Keays to move to Fort Collins and start the first school in one of the rooms in Auntie Stone's cabin.
Growth and Incorporation
The first school and church opened in 1866, and the town was platted in 1867. The civilian population of Fort Collins, led by local businessman Joseph Mason, led an effort to relocate the county seat to Fort Collins from LaPorte, and they were successful in 1868. On May 15, 1872, Congress opened the military reservation to pre-emption homesteading, and that same year the Agricultural Colony arrived to buy land and plat out Fort Collins. Fort Collins was incorporated as a town February 3, 1873.
It was with great celebration that the first railroad was welcomed to Fort Collins as it arrived on Mason Street on the morning of October 8, 1877; livestock and farm products could now be shipped out and consumer goods brought in at a reasonable cost and with savings in time. Another milestone in Fort Collins' progress was the opening of Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University) in the fall of 1879.
The declining economy of the United States during the 1890s — highlighted by the Panic of 1893 — resulted in part from the decline in the western mining industry and unexpected agricultural setbacks. One enterprise, however, held promise for the Fort Collins agricultural community: the sugar industry. The environmental conditions of the Front Range were suitable for the widespread cultivation of sugar beets, and the plant itself was ideally suited for the region's unpredictable climate. In 1901, Denver magnates Charles Boettcher, J. J. Brown, and John F. Campion founded the Great Western Sugar Company, and in 1903 the company built a beet processing factory in Fort Collins.
Although the city was affected by the Great Depression and simultaneous drought, it nevertheless experienced slow and steady growth throughout the early part of the twentieth century. During the decade following World War II, the population doubled and an era of economic prosperity occurred. Fort Collins gained a reputation as a conservative city in the twentieth century, with a prohibition of alcoholic beverages — a contentious political issue in the town's early decades — being retained from the late 1890s until student activism helped bring it to an end in 1969.
Geography and Climate
Fort Collins is nestled against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and alongside the banks of the Cache la Poudre River, and the city lies approximately 5,000 feet above sea level. Fort Collins is situated at the base of the Rocky Mountain foothills of the northern Front Range, approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of Denver, Colorado, and 45 miles (72 km) south of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Fort Collins encompasses 57.16 square miles of area (as of 2017) and has a total of 1,922 street lane miles.
Residents enjoy a moderate, four-season climate with an average of 300 days of sunshine and 14.5 inches of precipitation a year. The Cache la Poudre River carries particular significance for the region. The river got its unique name when French-Canadian trappers were forced to hide their gunpowder (cache la poudre) during a raging blizzard in the early 1800s. The Cache la Poudre River, which runs right through the middle of Fort Collins, is Colorado's only nationally designated "Wild & Scenic" River.
Fort Collins is the headquarters of the Roosevelt National Forest, a few miles west; the Pawnee National Grassland is to the east. The nearby Horsetooth Reservoir, located a few miles west of Old Town, provides recreational opportunities including boating, fishing, and hiking. Colorado Highway 14, which follows much of the river, is a designated Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway between Fort Collins and the town of Walden, and the Cache la Poudre–North Park Scenic Byway is recognized as one of the state's premier scenic highways.
Economy
Several technology companies, including Hewlett Packard, Intel, and AMD, maintain large facilities in Fort Collins. Colorado State University is recognized as one of the nation's preeminent research institutions, and the university anchors much of the city's economic activity. Colorado State University's enrollment doubled during the 1960s, making it the city's primary economic force by the end of the century.
Fort Collins is the largest producer of craft beer — 70 percent — in Colorado, and the city is home to more than 20 craft breweries, each with its distinctive style, including the legendary Odell Brewing Company and New Belgium Brewing, a leader in eco-friendly and sustainable business practices. The Colorado Brewer's Festival is held in late June annually in Fort Collins, featuring beers from as many as 45 brewers from the state of Colorado and averaging around 30,000 attendees.
To help improve transportation between the expanding residential developments south of downtown and the old heart of the city, Fort Collins established the MAX Bus system in 2014. The city also provides municipal broadband service; Fort Collins Connexion offers gigabit-speed internet, phone, and live TV to residents and businesses. The Northern Colorado Regional Airport is jointly owned by the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland.
Education
Fort Collins is a prominent college town, home to Colorado State University, a public research university and the second-largest university by enrollment in Colorado. Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College constructed its first classroom building, later called Old Main, in 1879, further establishing Fort Collins as the economic and cultural center of the region; the school was renamed Colorado State University in 1957.
Approximately 54.5% of the Fort Collins population has completed four or more years of college. The community library system includes the Old Town Library, Council Tree Library, and the Harmony Library, a joint-use facility shared with Front Range Community College.
Culture and Recreation
Old Town and Historic Preservation
The well-preserved Old Town Historic District serves as a hub for shopping, restaurants, and nightlife, as well as a reminder of the city's agricultural and frontier history. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; the majority of the buildings within Old Town are designated national and local historic districts. In 2005, Fort Collins was named a Preserve America City by the White House. Local lore holds that Fort Collins' historic downtown streetscape served as an inspiration for Walt Disney when designing Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. Fort Collins' historic strip on Walnut Street and an old firehouse served as inspiration for Disneyland's Main Street.
Cycling
Fort Collins has established a national reputation as one of the premier cycling cities in the United States. In 2013, the League of American Bicyclists designated Fort Collins a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Community — one of four in the United States. In 2018, the PeopleForBikes foundation named Fort Collins the number one city in the United States for cycling. The city maintains more than 966 acres of parks, 37,607 acres of natural areas, and 45 miles of off-street hike and bike trails, and supports multiple transportation options including MAX Bus Rapid Transit and 200 miles of on-street bike lanes and off-street trails for pedestrians and bicycles.
Arts and Museums
The arts are represented by The Center for Fine Art Photography, University Center for the Arts, Fort Collins Museum of Art (FCMOA), and the Bas Bleu Theatre Company. The Fort Collins Museum of Discovery displays the history of Fort Collins and Larimer County from prehistoric times to present day. The Fort Collins Lincoln Center is home to the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra and regularly attracts national touring companies of Broadway plays. The Gardens on Spring Creek is the city's botanic garden, featuring 12 acres of curated beauty, a tropical Butterfly House, dozens of events, and education programming.
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