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A Guide to the Local History Web SiteThe Fort Collins Local History Archive is responsible for collecting, preserving, and disseminating historical information relating to Fort Collins and Larimer County. The purpose of the web site is to provide users access to archival information in the form of:
The web site features a drop-down menu in five categories: Collections, Topics, Tours, Search, and Links. It also links to Photographic Services and Orders and Research Services and Tips. and . CollectionsThe bulk of the Collections are finding aids for the vertical files, as well as for the maps and special collections located in the back storage room of the archive and off-site. The contents of these collections are not on-line. You can browse each Finding Aid and use the "Find in Page" option in your web browser to search for a particular topic or name; or you can perform a database search of each Finding Aid or all the Finding Aids by using the Records Search option.Biographical Vertical Files include newspaper articles, brochures, manuscripts, and other written documentation on a family or family member. This is an index of family surnames. For example, a file listing on the name "Stover" will tell you that a file exists on someone with the surname Stover, but no other information. Additional information on a person may be found in subject files also. For example, if a person was a part of the aircraft industry, an article on him may be found in the subject file "Aviation". Subject Vertical Files include newspaper articles, government documents, student reports, etc. about various topics. This index is useful for locating information within the vertical files. Example: use "Find in Page" to find "mayors". Ephemera Vertical files contain primary source materials such as business receipts, calling cards, original advertising, and personal budget books. It is recommended that you research your topic through the photograph collections and other vertical files before looking at the ephemera file. Maps are stored in the storage room and specially designated file drawers in the archive. Each map has been cataloged with a brief description and there are a few links to digital map images and a link to an index of Northern Colorado property owners in 1915. The Fort Collins, Larimer County, and Colorado maps have been organized by decades. Aerial photographs are catalogued in the photograph collection and are not included in this finding aid. Photograph Vertical Files include photographs from the Historical Collection, Hancock Collection, Miller Collection, Slide Collection, and Triangle Review and Coloradoan Newspaper Collections filed by subject and/or place. These collections consist of over 300,000 prints and negatives dating from the 1860s to the present. Approximately 25,000 photographs from these collections have been scanned and comprise the online photograph database. This finding aid does not include an index to biographical photographs. Biographical photographs are filed alphabetically by surname. Special Collections include extensive collections of written materials and scrapbooks that pertain to a particular family, business, or organization. The collections are stored in archival boxes on-site as well as off-site. Reference Books and Oral Histories both allow the user to search the library catalog for non-circulating reference books and oral histories within the archive. Oral histories are the only resource in the archive that may be checked out. City Directories include the complete 1902, 1904 and 1906 Larimer County City Directories and the 1939, 1947, and 1959 Rural and Farm Directories. You may also do a database search of only the City Directories at Records Search. Phone Directories include all of the archive's collection of early Fort Collins telephone directories from 1927-1953. The archive does have a Collection Use Policy to protect these fragile and rare resources. TopicsTopics include a selection of articles, essays, and reports about aspects of the city's and Larimer County's history, architecture, and culture. These are particularly useful for students (brief histories of the city and county) and out-of-town researchers.Ethnic Groups include university student research papers on Mexican-American and German-Russian populations in the South Platte River Valley of northern Colorado, and Native Americans in northern Colorado. City History includes a short history (one page) of Fort Collins written by Charlene Tresner and links to other histories of the area. County History is a short history (one page) of Larimer County that includes links to other county historical information. Historic Contexts is an architectural history of the town. Chamber Brochure is a reproduction of the original text in the "1905 Chamber of Commerce Brochure." Larimer Legends includes true and fictional accounts of Larimer County history. Local History Anecdotes are from oral histories and newspaper articles in the archive's vertical files. News Flashbacks include newspaper articles about various local events that continue to spark the interest of Fort Collins residents and the worldwide community. The Coloradoan articles on local airplane crashes and the Big Thompson Flood are located here. World War II Oral History Excerpts contain over 35 excerpts from WWII veterans and citizens of that time period. ToursTours are online photographic guides to the historic tours, sites, buildings, areas, and other local history sources of Fort Collins and Larimer County. These are useful for those interested in casually browsing photographs of particular topics/subjects.Then and Now is a photographic slide show of Fort Collins streets and buildings through the decades. (If you are interested in ordering a copy of a certain photograph, hold the mouse over the thumbnail image, then write down the image name/number located in the status bar of your browser.) Historic Banks provide two on-line tours of early brochures that highlight the historic interiors of the First National Bank of Fort Collins and the Poudre Valley Bank (now Wells Fargo Bank). College Scrapbook is a re-creation of Robert Duling's 1927-1929 scrapbook from his Colorado Agricultural College (now CSU) days. The scrapbook also contains quotes from news articles and the Silver Spruce Yearbook on Duling, fraternity life, the Cow College Carnival (predecessor of College Days), the Dramatic Club, the Hiker's Club, ROTC, and Trail's End Ranch at Cherokee Park. Fashion focuses on historic photographs of Fort Collins people and their fashionable clothing and includes links to other sites that portray historic clothing. Hottel Mansion is an interior tour of B.F. Hottel's residence that was located at 215 S. College. The tour contains computer reproductions of hand-drawn floor plans and photos of each room's interior. Larimer County Farms and Ranches includes photographs of the county's rural properties from the Tax Assessor Record cards from 1948-1990s; there are also online maps for determining the legal locations of these properties. Larimer County Digitization Initiative is a collaborative project of Larimer County's libraries, museums and public schools. This project promotes access to local historical resources through use of the Internet and other media. The web site features "Windows to the Past," a map tour, and "Larimer County Water Ways" a searchable database of historic photographs on the subject of water in Larimer County. An online Study Tool Kit provides oral histories and other resources for school curriculum pertaining to Larimer county water history. Mystery Photos are images that have been donated to the Local History Archive with little or no identification and placed on the web for users to identify. SearchThe Search option provides an overall search of the Photograph, People, Buildings, Records, and Timeline subject areas in the History and Architecture Database. Specific and advanced searches for each subject area are also available through this option. See the instructions for each search option as well as Help for the Users Guide.To perform a search click Search on the Archive's drop-down menu. This opens a "frames" version of the Historic Database Search Engine. You now have two options: Perform a Search of all the subject areas in the main frame or perform a specific and/or advanced search by clicking one of the search options in the left frame. If you select an overall search then enter a keyword in the blank. A complete list of search results will now appear in the right frame. Click on any one of the collections and the results will appear in the left frame. You can click on one of these entries to obtain the complete record in the right frame. If you select a specific and/or advanced Search Option in the left frame, then a search entry form will appear in the right frame. Enter your search information and the record or photograph thumbnail images will appear in the left frame. Click on the record or image to see the complete record and/or large image in the right frame. For example, click Photo Search to open a list of Photo Search Options (left frame) and Simple Search for Photos (in the right frame). Enter one or two keywords, click "Find Photos" and a list of thumbnails will appear. Click on a thumbnail for a larger photo and description of the item. If you wish to order a copy of the photograph, write down the number located at the top left hand corner of the photographic record (usually an "H" followed by five numerals, for example: H01594). Detailed information about pricing, use fees (using the photo for publication), and order forms are available online. Some photos have information entered, but the photo has not yet been scanned. Note: It is not necessary to capitalize. A Keyword Search will search in the main Description, Caption, or Subject fields of the database. Keywords may include location, dates, people, names of buildings/objects, etc. The keyword search is not Boolean, so operators such as "and," "or," and "not" do not work at this time. Instead the search engine will try to exactly match the word or phrase entered. If the keyword is very broad, such as the word "ice," the search will return any record or photograph with those three letters. These may include records or photographs that have nothing to do with "ice," such as one with the name "Price," or another that includes the word "service." If the keyword or phrase is too specific, such as "poudre river by arapaho bend," there will be no results. It may be necessary to adjust the search by using "poudre river" or "arapaho bend" instead. The People Search may be used to search for biographical information on people by name, occupation, or pre-selected groups (such as Colorado State University). The purpose of the Building Search and Architecture research page is to assist the public in defining the history and architecture of their homes and businesses for Local Historic Landmark designations and/or nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. The Buildings and Architecture information is very limited at this time. The Records Search provides access to Landmark Designations; Newspaper, Scrapbook, and Finding Aids indexes; and to some city directories and building permits/records. An integrated search of all these records can also be performed with this search option. Links to other miscellaneous records are also available. Time Line offers both a textual version of a historical Time Line and a user-defined Time Line created from the database. The feature How to Add a "Time Bit" to the Time Line provides an online form for the user to submit additional historical events to the Time Line. Additionally, a third Timeline created by Fort Collins Museum volunteers can be used as a chronological index to historic newspaper articles, books, and scrapbooks in the museum and the library's archive. Submit Historical Information allows the public to enter their own historical family information into the online People database. If there is information already in the database that is incomplete or incorrect, the user can also submit the new information on this form. LinksGenealogy Links provide local and worldwide links for genealogical research. Additionally, the Genealogy Research page provides a step-by-step format to performing genealogical research in the library and on this web site.History Links include other Fort Collins and Colorado history sites and digitization projects. Photographic Services and OrdersCopies of photographs from the Archive, unless restricted, are available for purchase. Permission is granted for one-time use only; photographs may not be enhanced by computer digital imaging or otherwise altered or modified in any way without written permission. Detailed information on pricing, use fees (using the photo for publication), and order forms are available online.Research Services and TipsThese are detailed step-by-step instructions for Researching the History of Your Building, Mail-Order Houses, Genealogy, or Environmental Assessments. They utilize resources within the Library, the Internet, and outside agencies, and are extremely valuable for anyone interested in those areas. The first steps involve researching microfilm within the library, and allow library staff to assist the public even when the archive is closed. For other questions, you may Contact Us for research assistance. |