USA > Colorado > Larimer County > History of Larimer County, Colorado > Part 44
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tion days, gaming with cards or other devices in the saloon, etc., fixing the penalities for violations at from $50 to $300. The ordinance and all other law and order ordinances were strictly enforced and a radical improvement in the social and moral condition of the city followed. The riff-raff, flot- sam and jetsam, the gamblers and many of the loose women that had floated in here during the "wide open" period, found it convenient to leave the city and seek localities where they could more safely ply their nefarious avocations. The result was that Fort Collins became a quiet, peaceable and law and order loving community. One year later the council passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of intoxicants of all kinds within the limits of the city. This, however, was repealed in 1885 and the high license ordinance re-adopted, which remained in force until 1896, when the city again returned to the principle of absolute prohibition, thus entirely cutting out the open saloon, a policy that has since been strictly adhered to and enforced. In 1909 the city, by a vote of 5 to 1, accepted the provisions of the State Local Option law absolutely prohibiting the granting of liquor licenses and the sale of liquor in the town. This policy is working well and the city could not be prevailed upon to return to a policy that fostered the open saloon. It was thus that the open saloon in Fort Collins passed into history unhonored, unwept and unsung.
Fort Collins at this period, instead of the old Grout building of ten years before and the few hundred people of five years later, was a town of no mean proportions, having a population of more than 2,000 people, with business blocks of brick and stone that would do credit to many cities of far greater population; with general stores the like of whose large supplies and endless assortment are not seen outside the Mountain states; with two flouring, mills, a large grain elevator, three banks, three hotels, two daily and weekly newspapers, water works, machine shops, graded schools with classes ranging from kindergarten up, good school and church buildings, and a thrifty ambitious, enter- prising and intelligent class of people. Here was also the State Agricultural college with good build- ings and an improved farm and between sixty and seventy students and with a record for helping the farmer, the worth of which was not half told nor realized and also with a record for wide investiga- tion and substantial advance in the field of agri- culture that had already challenged the admiration of the leading agriculturists of the Nation.
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As already stated the first cemetery located in Fort Collins was on the site selected by the postoffice department for the Federal building at the corner of College avenue and Oak street, for which Con- gress has appropriated $100,000, and it was used for the interment of soldiers who died here in 1864- 5 and 6. In 1873 this was abandoned and grounds for a new cemetery, lying southeast of the town were purchased and laid off into burial lots. It was named "Mountain Home" and the bodies were re- moved from the old to the new. As time passed on
LINDEN STREET, FORT COLLINS, LOOKING NORTHEAST
this cemetery became too confined to meet require- ments and on August 15th, 1887, the city pur- chased from Thomas Connolly an eighty-acre tract lying a mile and a half west of the city, with abund- ant water rights from the Pleasant Valley & Lake Canal for the sum of $4,000. One half of the tract, or forty acres, was immediately laid out by expert landscape gardeners for cemetery purposes and named Grandview Cemetery. The first inter- ment was made in the new cemetery November 22nd, 1887, The grounds were attractively laid out with circular drives, ranging from 15 to 30 feet in width. There were several small parks and these were sown to blue grass and beautified with shrub- bery and flowers. A plat of one-half an acre was set off and dedicated to the uses of George H. Thomas, Post No. 7, Grand Army of the Republic, which removed to its plat the remains of the ten soldiers buried in the old cemetery at the time of the military occupation and many deceased soldiers of the Civil war have therein been interred. No new interments were permitted in Mountain Home Cemetery after Grandview was opened, and the re- mains of those buried in the former have since been removed to the latter. The city and private citizens have done much to beautify Grandview and it is now one of the most attractive Cities of the Dead
in the state. Thousands of shade and ornamental trees have been set out there and kept in order and now afford an abundance of grateful shade. Hun- dreds of well kept flower beds also add a pleasing view to the scene.
The Colony provided for two small parks- Washington and Lincoln-but only one of these (Lincoln,) has been improved, making it a veritable beauty spot. The Carnegie Public library is situated in this park.
The amount expended in 1883 for new build- ings and public improvements amounted to $169,- 000. The more important of the new buildings were residences for B. F. Hottel, H. A. Crafts, Prof. A. E. Blount, Prof. W. W. Remington, John G. Lunn, B. F. Kelley, T. W. Vollintine, county jail, Mechanical hall at college, Standard Milling Company elevator, and two store buildings on Linden street for T. H. Robertson & Co.
In 1886 it was found that additional school facil- ities were an absolute necessity. For several years the district had been compelled to rent vacant store rooms on Jefferson street and Mountain avenue in which to house several of the grades that could not be accommodated at the Remington street school building, and it was decided to erect an eight room school house on property owned by the district at the corner of Mountain avenue and Howes street. A bond issue of $19,500 was promptly voted by the taxpayers. On August 19 the contract to construct the building according to plans and specifications, was let to the E. F. Halleck Lumber company, of Denver, for $19,000. The building was completed in time for the opening of school in September, 1887.
On Saturday, July 10th, 1886, the Lindell Mills, the pioneer flour mill of the Cache la Poudre valley, were destroyed by fire, including all of its valuable machinery, involving a loss of $60,000. The in- surance on the property amounted to $28,000. The mill was owned by the Colorado Milling and Ele- vator company, B. F. Hottel, manager. The com- pany immediately began preparations for build- ing a larger and better mill to take the place of the one destroyed. The new mill was completed in due time and was equipped with modern machinery and all the latest and most approved appliances for converting wheat into commercial flour. At this time the preliminaries for the proposed Farmer's mill began to assume definite form and the trustees, on Tuesday, July 15, let the contract for the ma- chinery and equipment to E. P. Allis & Co., of Milwaukee, at the company's bid of $36,000. The building, a brick structure, 45 by 65 and four
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stories high above the basement, was to be con- structed at the expense of the Farmer's Protective association. The Farmer's Protective association was incorporated January 5th, 1884, under the laws of Colorado. Among the objects specified in the articles of incorporation, were the building of mills and elevators, buying and selling real estate, the manufacture of flour, feed, etc. The association was organized primarily for the purpose of pro- tecting the interests of the wheat growers of the Caché la Poudre valley against alleged unfair dis- crimination on the part of the millers of Colorado in the purchase of grain. The farmers claimed that the millers were not paying for wheat all they could afford to pay and that they were shipping wheat into the state from Utah and other states to the injury of the Colorado farmers, this in face of the fact that Colorado was producing more bread- stuffs than was sufficient to supply the needs of the state. The leaders in the movement among the farmers were J. E. Plummer, Z. C. Plummer, Joseph Murray, John G. Coy, P. Anderson and the most of the leading farmers of the valley be- came members of the association, among whom the feeling prevailed that a mill should be built to in- sure a better return for their labors. The mill was built and set in operation but through mismanage- ment it proved a losing proposition and in a few years fell into the hands of creditors who closed it down and dismanteled it.
Fort Collins was a progressive town and its citizens believed in keeping step with the march of progress in all things that promised to aid in its development or that added to the comfort and con- venience of the community. The electric system of lighting streets and for domestic use was being in- troduced in most of the large cities of the country, giving such excellent satisfaction that a company was organized and incorporated in October, 1887, to build and operate a plant in Fort Collins. The organization was known as the Fort Collins Light, Heat and Power company, its incorporators being W. B. Stewart, E. P. Roberts, E. T. Dunning and William B. Miner. On October 18th the city council passed a resolution granting the company and its successors the right to erect and operate electric lights and right of way through all the streets and alleys for the erection of poles and lay- ing, suspending and maintaining the necessary wires and other appliances for the transmission of elec- tricity in, through, under or over the said streets and alleys. Mr. Stewart came from Denver. He was a machinist and mechanical engineer of acknow-
ledged ability and experience. Mr. Roberts was the general manager of the Cheyenne electric light works. Mr. Dunning was one of the leading attor- neys of Fort Collins and Mr. Miner, a prominent resident and well known man of wealth. The fol- lowing day Messrs. Stewart and Roberts went to Denver to order the necessary machinery for the plant, promising to light up the city with electricity about the middle of December. The city agreed to take ten arc street lights and to pay $2,000 the first year for them. The plant furnished the city
CORNER OF LINDEN AND WALNUT STREETS, FORT COLLINS
with lights until 1908 when the franchise passed by purchase under the control of the Northern Colo- rado Power company which generated the electricity at its big power plant at Lafayette and transmitted it from there over wires to the city. The old plant was dismanteled and the building remodeled and made to house other business enterprises.
A telephone was constructed in August, 1887, by the city to connect the city hall with the water works pump house for use in cases of fire, when greater pressure was required. Six years later, July 13, 1893, the city council granted a franchise to the Colorado Telephone company to build a line connecting Fort Collins with Denver and other Colorado cities. The line was completed and an exchange was located in J. R. Will's drug store and Mr. Wills was the first manager. There were about fifty local subscribers. The list has since grown to between 3,000 and 4,000 and in 1909, the Telephone company erected a handsome and well arranged building on College avenue for the exclusive use of the exchange, and has a large number of employees on its local pay roll.
For several months previous to the opening of the year 1888, citizens and the newspapers had discussed the necessity of an adequate sewer sys- tem from a sanitary standpoint, and an attempt was made to bond the city in the sum of $8,000,
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the proceeds to be used in the construction of a sewer extending from the Franklin School build- ing east on Mountain avenue to Lincoln avenue and thence to the river. When the proposition was laid before the people at the municipal elec- tion, held April 3rd, 1888, it was voted down by 34 majority. The vote against the bonds was not an indication of the sentiments of the people on the question of sewers, but simply an expres- sion against bonding the city for the purpose of constructing them. The feeling that the sewer should be built was strong, but the people dis- liked the idea of voting bonds for the improve- ment. They favored sew- ers and other public im- provements, but wanted the city to pay for them as they were made and not issue bonds. In July the city council saw its way clear to begin the work of sewer construc- tion and on the 7th, awarded the contract for excavating 2,870 feet for sewer purposes to V. L. Watkins who began work at once on the first sewer built in Fort Collins. This sewer was originally intended to be built of brick and to extend from a point on the river near the Lincoln avenue bridge, thence southwest on Lincoln avenue to the intersection of Mountain avenue and thence west on Mountain avenue to the alley west of the Franklin School building, a distance of 2,870 feet. The cost paid out of the revenues of the city amounted to $3,500. In 1891 this sewer was extended west 540 feet and in 1893 still further west 586 feet. The people quickly familiarized themselves with the benefits of sewers and since then almost the entire city has been underlaid with a net-work of sewers. The total number of feet constructed and now in use amounts at this time to 191 miles.
During the years of 1882-3 and 4 the city built up faster than the surrounding country which it depended upon for support with the inevitable re- sult. Business in all lines was overdone and a period of liquidation and stagnation set in and continued
until along in the early 90's, so that in the matter of growth the town but little more than held its own. The census of 1890 gave the town a popu- lation of but 2,053, a gain of only 42 during the preceding decade. A number of causes contributed to this condition of affairs, the principal one being that the farmers were not doing well. Their prin- cipal money crop was wheat and this fell off in yield per acre, due to continued cropping year after year, and to decline in the market price so
LAMB FEEDING IN LARIMER COUNTY
that, taking out the cost of production, there was little or nothing left the producer. Then many of the farmers were in debt for their land, for im- provements and for farm implements, stock, etc., and they had all they could do to keep their heads above water. Alfalfa hay was a drug upon the market and there was no demand for it. This was before the introduction of sheep feeding which a few years afterwards wrought a wonderful change in the situation. The stockmen suffered with the farmers as there was a frightful decline in the values of cattle and horses between 1885 and 1890, so that money was scarce and business correspond- ingly dull. It is an universally acknowledged truism, applying particularly to an agricultural and stock growing section, that unless the producers thrive the town cannot prosper. Things were about getting down to bed rock in 1889 when, through an accident the farmers began to take up sheep
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feeding as a new industry. The first year only 3,500 Mexican lambs were put in the pens and fed for the Chicago market. The lambs fattened on alfalfa and corn, brought a good price in Chicago in April and May, 1890. The results of the ex- periment were so encouraging that farmers gen- erally began to engage in it, so that by 1896-7 the number of sheep and lambs on feed in the county had increased from 3,500 to nearly 200,000 and in 1901 to 400,000. As a general thing the busi- ness was profitable. It enabled many a struggling farmer to pay off his debts and save his farm and home. By feeding sheep and lambs he made a home market for his surplus alfalfa, coarse grains and roots and also increased the fertility of his soil, resulting in larger and better harvests. The impulse of the prosperity of the farmers during this period was felt in Fort Collins and the town began to take on new life. A good deal of build- ing was done, new enterprises were started and the population of the town increased from 2,034 to 3,153 in the decade between 1890 and 1900, a gain of more than 1,000 souls, notwithstanding the business panic of 1893. The creamery and cheese factory built in 1888 contributed not a little to the prosperity of the farmers and town's people, for it distributed large sums of money every week for milk and cream to producers.
Perhaps the darkest day of the entire decade occurred on October 5th, 1895, when the Lindell Mills again burned down, involving the destruc- tion of the only flour mill in operation in Fort Collins and a pecuniary loss of $125,000. It was the second time the Lindell Mills had been de- stroyed by fire. The first time was in July, 1886. They were rebuilt in 1887 and had been in suc- cessful operation until the flames devoured them in 1895. Several thousand sacks of flour and about $4,000 worth of grain sacks were consumed in the last fire. The elevator adjoining the mill con- tained 50,000 bushels of wheat, much of which was made worthless by fire, water and smoke. In 1896 the mills were rebuilt on a larger and more substantial scale, and are still in operation. They furnish a ready market for all the wheat grown in the vicinity.
The Odd Fellows built their handsome and com- modious hall in 1895 and began occupying it about the first of December.
A majority of the aldermen elected at the muni- cipal election held April 7th, 1896, were ardent prohibitionists and it was not long after they took their seats in the council before an ordinance,
prohibiting the open saloon and the sale of intoxi- cating liquors of all kinds, was passed and adopted. Since then the sale of wines, liquors and beer in Fort Collins has been illegal and every known violation of the ordinance has been dealt with by the courts, not always in a merciful manner. For fourteen years the city has been without an open saloon and this condition bids fair to be continued indefinitely, as public sentiment in Fort Collins is bitterly opposed to the liquor traffic.
F. R. Baker, a strong anti-saloon man, was mayor of the city at that time and the anti-license aldermen who voted for the prohibition ordinance
LINDEN STREET, FORT COLLINS, LOOKING SOUTHWEST
were Benjamin Dix, Samuel Luke, James M. Simms, W. J. Meyers and J. W. Downey.
In October, 1898, the Colorado & Southern railroad company began the erection of a new pas- enger station to take the place of the old small, badly arranged and worse looking brick structure that had been in use since October, 1877. The new station is still in use and at the time it was built was conceded to be the handsomest and most conveniently arranged station on the entire road. It is 31 by 80 feet, ground dimensions, and built of gray stone laid up in broken ashlar style, with cut stone caps and sills and arches. It cost between $8,000 and $9,000. It was completed and occu- pied in May, 1899.
The decade between 1900 and 1910 was the most prosperous era that Fort Collins ever exper- ienced. The population increased during the ten years from 3,153 to 8,210 and business of all kinds was flourishing. There was no boom, just a steady substantial growth with a constantly increasing trade in every department of business. Citizens had awakened from the lethargic condition that prevailed for several years during and after the panic of 1893, and early in the decade began to take a more optimistic view of things. New business
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blood had been introduced, the farmers were mak- ing money and doing well, more land had been brought under cultivation and the banks were carry- ing large sums in deposits, and everything of a material nature seemed to be favorable to continued prosperity. New business blocks and new dwell- ings and residences were erected in large numbers and new people came in to occupy them. In 1901 the receipts of the postoffice exceeded $10,000 per annum which entitled the town to the carrier de- livery system which was installed that year, three
CORNER OF WEST MOUNTAIN AND COLLEGE AVENUES, FORT COLLINS
carriers of mail being first employed. This system has grown so that now six carriers are employed to deliver mail in the city.
In 1899 a public library association was organ- ized and the collection of books gathered up by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and by the Rev. George N. Falconer, numbering about 800 volumes, all told, were donated to the associa- tion as a nucleus of a public library. These books were gathered up and first housed in rooms on the second floor of the Welch block and Mrs. Jane Budrow was appointed the first librarian. A few months later Mayor F. R. Baker, in accordance with the statutes, appointed a board of directors consisting of Mrs. Ida M. Warren, Mrs. P. J. McHugh, Miss Mary Killgore, Judge Jay H. Bouton, Ansel Watrous and T. A. Gage, with the Mayor as an ex-officio member, which board accepted the books from the old association and they then became the property of the City's free library. The books were soon after moved to a room on College avenue where they remained until the fall of 1903 when they were placed in the Carnegie library building in Lincoln Park. Through the efforts of Mrs. D. A. McLean and other citizens, Andrew Carnegie, the well known steel manu- facturer and philanthropist, donated $12,500
towards the cost of a suitable library building, conditioned that the city should support and main- tain a free public library, which the city authorities agreed to do. The library now contains nearly 8,000 volumes of choice books and is one of the fixed and most popular public institutions of the city.
The most notable event in the history of Fort Collins, in a material way, since the completion of the Colorado Central Railroad in 1877, was the building of the beet sugar factory in 1903. This subject had been agitated since 1888 when it was demonstrated by experiments at the State Agri- cultural college that sugar beets, carrying a high percentage of saccharine matter could be success- fully and profitably grown in Larimer county. This agitation resulted in a concerted movement started in 1891 to get a factory here, and a rep- resentative of the Oxnard interests promised that if the farmers would engage to grow 5,000 acres of beets he would see that a factory was built. At that time he said nothing about a bonus or sub- sidy. Committees were appointed to solicit acreage and its members soon secured pledges for the re- quired number of acres. The Oxnard company was notified of what had been done and a few days later a representative appeared on the ground and demanded a bonus of $150,000 cash, site for a fac- tory and free water for its use. This demand was promptly negatived and that was the last heard of the Oxnard proposition. In 1901 Loveland suc- ceeded in getting capital interested in the building of a factory there and the plant was completed and placed in successful operation in October that year. The Loveland factory proved to be such a pro- nounced success and the establishment of the enter- prise had such a decided effect in advancing values of real estate, both farm and town property, that the people of Fort Collins were stimulated to extra exertion in behalf of the location and building of a factory at that point. Public meetings were held in the winter of 1901-2, at which an encouraging degree of enthusiasm was promoted. Committees, headed by Jesse Harris and Frank E. Baxter, were appointed to solicit beet acreage and they entered upon their work with an energy that promised success. They soon had the required acreage pledged and James B. Arthur and Peter Ander- son were sent east to look over the factories in Michigan and to confer with the Kilby company of Cleveland, Ohio, which built the Loveland fact- ory, and others for the purpose of getting capital
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interested to the extent of furnishing the money to build and operate a 600 ton per day plant. They were authorized to close a contract for the con- struction of the plant at once. This was in Janu- ary, 1902. They returned from their mission on January 20th and submitted a report in which they set forth what had been done in the premises and what the prospects were for getting a factory that year. The substance of the report was that it would be inadvisable to attempt to complete a fact- ory in time for the fall campaign; that it could be done if conditions were altogether favorable but that it would cost more money than if the con- tractor had more time in which to do the work. The matter rested in this shape until April when it was decided to deposit all the beet contracts with Joel F. Vaile of Denver, to be held by him until such time as they could be legally transferred to the Fort Collins Sugar company, positive assurance be- ing given that the factory would be built. About the first of August the Fort Collins Sugar Manu- facturing company filed its articles of incorpora- tion. The company was capitalized at $350,000, divided into 3,500 shares of $100 each. The di- rectors for the first year were to be J. S. Brown, Denver, B. F. Hottel, James A. Brown, James B. Arthur, C. R. Welch, J. S. McClelland and F. M. Shaw. At this time Mr. Shaw reported that contracts had been secured for the growing of 6,- 483₺ acres of beets for the years 1903-4 and 5. By Saturday, September 10th, the stock had all been subscribed for and a meeting of the directors was held that day for the purpose of electing officers with the following result: President, B. F. Hottel ; Vice-President, James B. Arthur ; Secretary, F. M. Shaw ; Treasurer, C. R. Welch. At that meeting it was given out that the company was then fully organized and expected to break ground for the sugar factory within a few days. B. F. Hottel, James A. Brown and F. M. Shaw left for the East on the 12th of September and wired back from Cleveland on the 20th that they had let a contract to the Kilby Manufacturing company for a 600 ton per day sugar factory to cost $650,000, the plant to be completed on or before September 15th, 1903. On their return home a meeting of the stockholders was held September 23rd to hear their report. It was then decided to build a 1,200 ton plant and to increase the capital stock to $1,000,- 000, and the Kilby Manufacturing company was notified to that effect. Mr. Kilby immediately wired back September 30th, that he accepted the change and would construct a 1,200 ton plant. On
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