Blake Hotel, Jefferson Street

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What an Outsider says of Fort Collins

Ft. Collins Courier 8/10/1878 Page 4

Blake Hotel, Jefferson Street

A correspondent of the Boulder News, signing himself, G. L. W. in a recent letter to that paper has this to say of our little town and its' surroundings: Fort Collins can not yet boast an omnibus to carry passengers to and from the train, but at the depot we were respectfully invited to several hotels, each called the very best, of course. A stranger cannot tell how to choose, but chance, or perhaps a kind province, favored us in the selection of the Blake House. It is a large white frame house, situated in the very central part of town, under the experienced management of G. G. Blake, rooms cool, and comfortable in every respect, a table set to suit the most fastidious, and attention paid to the comfort and pleasure of guests. The location of Fort Collins is particularly pleasant, commanding a fine view of the mountains, and toward the northeast overlooking as lovely a valley as the eye ever rested upon, through which winds the Cache la Poudre, a clear silvery steam that:

"Mirrors mountains huge and dim,
As well as crimps the green and blue,
And sparkles in the kindly sun."

Its' course and that of Box Elder creek, marked as far as the eye can reach by poplar, cottonwood and boxelder trees, and low bushes along their banks. We were surprised at finding in a town of the size so many fine residences, among them a substantial brick, shaded by large cottonwoods, the yard carpeted with soft grass, and adorned by rose bushes and cultivated flowers, the home of H. C. Peterson. Next to it stands a white frame house, and as it peeps out through the creeping vines and shade trees, one can hardly refuse its' invitation to come in the pleasant residence of W. C. Stover. On the street stands two white houses somewhat similar, one the property of Mr. A. Loomis, the other of G. G. Blake. Further southwest on the same street stands the residence of Jacob Armstrong, a drab colored frame and recently rebuilt, it is very handsome, but the yard--we hardly think any description can do justice to our impression of it, when we entered after a long walk, on a very warm morning. The foliage of the trees is so heavy that it resists the efforts of the sun to throw its penetrating rays into the yard, the long branches meeting form a lovely green canopy over the stone walk from the gate to the house, back of it is a garden with fine vegetables, corn looking better then most we have seen this warm weather.

There are also some very fine business blocks. The dry goods, grocery and hardware store of W. C. Stover, Tedmon Bros. & Co., L. W. Welch & Co., the bank owned by Mrs. Yount, over which the lady has her pleasant rooms. The large building whose owner's name we have forgotten, partly occupied by the printing office of the Fort Collins Courier, also a part as the Court Room. There are three Churches, Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian. We attended services at the latter, Sunday morning, and listened to an excellent sermon from Rev. D. E. Finks, the pastor. In the afternoon before train time, we enjoyed a very pleasant ride in Mr. Blake's carriage after his spirited horses, and were shown many places of interest, farms lying in the Cache la Poudre valley, a fine wheat field, the property of Mr. Luke, a small grove of apple trees in bearing, also a grove of young cottonwoods ready for transplanting owned by Mr. Avery, farm and residence of Mr. Emigh, who owns and cultivates the largest farm in the county. We were left at the depot in time for the train, where we met an old friend, Mr. Laliday, who made us a present of a very curious fossil, found on Fossil creek, about four miles from town, a part of the petrified spinal column of a large fish, probably similar to a shark. The Express does not waste much time, and we reached home in about two hours, bringing with us the pleasant memories of Fort Collins and Fort Collins friends, which will not soon be forgotten.

Fort Collins Museum of Discovery          Poudre River Public Library District
Preserving the history of Fort Collins, Colorado & the Cache la Poudre region