Fort Collins in the 1880s Description of Archive's Collections Fort Collins' history is a microcosm of the development of the West. The settlement of the Cache La Poudre River Basin has now achieved national significance with the designation of the Cache La Poudre National Corridor. We are fortunate to still have the built environment as well as the archival collections that reflect this history. The Local History Archive contains four principal types of holdings. These are the institutional records, the local history research collections, the photographic collections, and the special collections. Finding aids for the majority of these collections are available on-line. See A Guide to the Local History Web site for more details on the on-line contents of this site. Institutional Records: This collection includes materials which document the growth and development of the Fort Collins Public Library since it became a City institution in 1901. A few records of earlier library associations, including the Fort Collins Library and Reading Room, are included. Also incorporated into this collection are the records of the Larimer County Library, from 1937 until 1966. The institutional records are filed according to an established set of series which reflect the history and operation of the Library. When completed, a list of these series, as well as a more detailed description of each series, will serve as a guide to the institutional records. These records are not on-line. Research Collections: These archival holdings were begun in 1974, with the development of the WICHE oral history project and subsequent collecting of family materials and photographs. The holdings are divided into six main categories of research materials, as follows: Newspapers: Both recent and historic Fort Collins newspapers from March to November of 1874, and from June 1878 to the present are available on microfilm in the Reference Area of the Main Library. Newspapers from 1874 through 1910 and from 1977 to 1987 are indexed by names and by subjects. Incomplete indexes to some early newspapers have been entered into the Records Database. The newspapers from 1878-1882 have been digitized and are now on-line at the Colorado Newspaper Digitization Project. Also a small selection of newspaper articles can be found at News Flashbacks. Oral History Interviews: Approximately 400 oral history interviews of local citizens, most with verbatim transcripts, are stored in the Local History Archive. Transcripts of tapes can be checked out for a three-week period, with one renewal. Access the on-line catalog to find the cataloged interviews. Contact the Local History Archivist for other interviews that have not yet been transcribed, or for duplicate tapes of the interviews. Some excerpts of oral histories about World War II and Local Events are available on-line. Also complete oral history interviews from our collection on Water History are available on-line in PDF format. Biographical, Subject, and Ephemera Files: Commonly called the "Vertical Files," these files contain newspaper clippings, pamphlets, brochures, research papers, and ephemera. The contents of these files are not on-line, although information from some files has been summarized and entered into the People, Buildings, Timeline, and Records Databases. Reports based on this information may be found in Topics. Maps: Many current and historical maps of the Larimer County and Fort Collins area are a part of the Local History Collections. The Sanborn Fire Insurance maps of Fort Collins, printed every few years from 1886 to 1940 are on microfilm in the Main Library Reference Area. A few land maps have been digitized and are available through this Finding Aid. Some aerial maps have been digitized and are a part of the Photograph Database. Cemetery Records and Obituary Files: Records are available for Grandview and Roselawn Cemeteries on-line. Other books of Larimer County Cemetery Records are available in the Reference Section of the Main Library and are organized by names, dates, and location. Obituary notices appearing in the Coloradoan newspaper from 1977 to the present have been duplicated and are both indexed and filed alphabetically in the Archive. These are not on-line; however, some obituary information has been entered in the People Database. Additionally, there are obituaries from 1999-present on the Coloradoan newspaper database. Books and Periodicals: The Local History Archive maintains a separate reference area of books that are rare, out-of-print, or of enduring interest to local history researchers. See the on-line catalog for these books. These books are not available for check-out. However, volunteers have entered the 1902, 1904, and 1906 City Directories on-line. The scanned 1939, 1947, and 1959 Larimer County Farm and Rural Directories are also on this page. Fort Collins, Livermore, and Wellington's earliest telephone directories from 1927-1953 have also been scanned. In addition, the library subscribes to an assortment of newspapers and periodicals devoted to Colorado and the West. Recent issues are located on the periodical shelves in the Adult Services Area, and are kept for various lengths of time. Back issues of those periodicals pertaining to Fort Collins and Larimer County are kept permanently, and stored in the Local History Archive or off-site. Photographic Collections: We are fortunate in having several extensive collections of photographs. These include the Coloradoan Collection, comprising approximately 50,000 images dating from 1951 to 1975; the Miller Collection, with over 77,000 negatives dating from 1907 to 1970; the Hancock Collection comprising approximately 4,000 prints and negatives dating from 1923 to 1959 by Fort Collins/Loveland photographer E.A. Hancock; the Triangle Review Newspaper Collection comprising approximately 50,000 images and negatives dating from 1973 to 1995; and the Local History Collection, numbering nearly 24,000 negatives and almost as many prints, from the 1860s to the present. The old Larimer County Tax Assessor Records from 1948-1990 have been donated to the archive for their photographic research value. There are approximately 50,000 records with photos and usually these are the only existing photographs of Larimer County's early residences. The Loveland, Berthoud, and Estes Park records have been transferred to their libraries or museums. The library also maintains a collection of about 12,000 Slides. The Photograph Subject Finding Aid serves to assist the researcher in finding the various categories of photographs that are in our collections. A Photograph Database, provides on-line access to about 24,000 images from these photograph collections stored in the Archive [6000 are from the Tax Assessor Records]. Tours provides on-line photographic displays of Old Town, historic scrapbooks and brochures, businesses, residences, farms and ranches, and other local on-line photographic exhibits. Duplicate prints and slides are available for purchase by patrons. Negatives always remain the property of the Fort Collins Museum and are not sold. Special Collections: Special Collections contain the records of area businesses, organizations, individuals, and government entities. Included are the records of several women's clubs, including the Livermore Women's Club, the SouthSide Club, and the D.A.R.; material on the Northern Pharmacy; records of the Fort Collins Municipal Railway; Building Permits; and old Tax Assessor Records. The Assessor Records are valuable for the photographs; as well as the construction and remodeling information available on the cards. A complete list of special collections holdings, as well as a more detailed description of the materials within each collection, serve as a guide. The materials in the Special Collections are generally not on-line. There are Building Permits and Records Databases that feature all of the records in that collection; and many of the photographs pasted on the Tax Assessor Records have been scanned for on-line access through the Photograph Database. Services: Copy machine and photographic reproductions are all available. Copy machine is 10 cents per page. See Photograph Use Form for fees.