Fort Collins Time Line

1844 - Antoine Janis claimed to have staked his original squatters claim at Colona (LaPorte).

1854 - Colorado was part of Nebraska Territory.

1860 - First irrigation ditch, taking water from the Cache La Poudre River, was built by G.R. Sanderson. It was used to water a farm.

1861 - Colorado Territory organized; Larimer County established including modern Jackson County, with LaPorte as county seat.

1862 - First wedding in Larimer County performed by F.W. Sherwood.

1862 - Lt. Col. William O. Collins commanded the 11th Ohio Cavalry at Fort Laramie. They were dispatched to present-day LaPorte to protect the Overland Trail. A post was located a short distance southwest of the town and named Camp Collins after Colonel Collins.

1862 - The first assessor made his first rounds of Larimer County and found $6,000 worth of property subject to taxation.

1862 - Mr. and Mrs. John Coy arrived in the Cache la Poudre Valley. Their farm was located on the Poudre River bottom east of what is now known as "Old Town". They were the first farmers in this area.

1862 - Overland Stage route established through LaPorte.

1862 - Congress passed Morrill Act authorizing land grant colleges.

1864 - First doctor Timothy Smith arrived, set up practice, and selected site for post hospital.

1864 - First county fair held with 300 exhibit entries.

1865 - First post office was opened in town with Joseph Mason as postmaster.

1865-66 - Arapaho Indians, under Chief Friday, camped on Frederick Sherwood's ranch 4 miles southeast of Fort Collins. Sherwood was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as the agent to supply them with food.

1866 - First school held in Auntie Stone?s cabin and taught by her niece, Mrs. Elizabeth Keays.

1866 - Antoine Janis filed his claim for his land in the Cache La Poudre Valley. This was the first patent recorded in Larimer County.

1866 - Lewis Stone, Elizabeth Stone's husband, died. Fort Collins' most famous pioneer settler, Elizabeth Stone, was dubbed ?Auntie Stone? at the age of 64.

1866 - General William T. Sherman visited Fort Collins and recommended to President Grant that the fort be abandoned.

1866 - Edward Melinger and Company opened the settlement?s first brewery - 7 years before Joseph Coors opened his brewery in Golden, Colorado.

1867 - Agnes Mason Giddings was born - first white child in Fort Collins; and military fort was abandoned.

1868 - First meeting of the county commissioners occurred and Fort Collins became a county seat.

1868 - Leah Stratton was born in Auntie Stone?s cabin. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harris Stratton, were the first white couple to be married in Fort Collins.

1870 - Territorial Legislature established State Agricultural College (now called Colorado State University, CSU).

1870 - School District #5 was legally organized and established. The first Board of Director was Peter Anderson.

1870 - Blake House, first hotel in Fort Collins (built by George Blake), was purchased by Auntie Stone when she was 77. She changed the name to the Metropolitan Hotel and it later became known as the Cottage House.

1871 - School District No. 5 built small frame school house on Riverside between Whedbee and Peterson.

1872 - First Drug Store opened.

1872 - First law office opened by Ledru R. Rhodes in the Grout building.

1872 - Ben Whedbee moved his general store from "Old Town" to the southeast corner of College and Mountain Avenues in the "New Town". A bitter contest ensued between the old and new and lasted for nearly 25 years.

1872 - Congress opened abandoned military reservation to pre-emption homesteading. "Agricultural Colony" established by group of people from Greeley and Fort Collins to promote settlement in Fort Collins; legally authorized under the name of Larimer County Land Improvement Company.

1872 - First Presbyterian church organized..

1872 - The Larimer County Land Improvement Company is incorporated to promote land development and encourage settlement of a new town at Fort Collins. The actual entitlement text follows: INCORPORATORS: R. A. Cameron, J. E. Remington, B. T. Whedbee, J. M. Sherwood, Joseph Mason, J. L. Brush, N. H. Meldrum, A. F. Howes, Jacob Welch, E. W. Whitcomb, J. C. Mathews, E. Hollister, B. H. Eaton and Wm. E. Pabor, formed under and by the virtue of the provisions of Chapter Eighteen (18) of the revised statutes of the Territory of Colorado and the acts amendatory thereto. Objects: To induce immigration to said Territory, to purchase, acquire, hold and possess, sell, convey and dispose of lands and town lots and other property in said Territory, the establishment and building up of towns, to build and operate Ditches, Wagon Roads, Railroads, also Mills for manufacturing lumber and other articles of wood and generally do all such things as are authorized by the acts aforesaid, which may tend to accomplish the purposes above stated. Term of existence shall be twenty (20) years. - {1872/10/25}

1872 - The transfer of the property bounded by Elizabeth street on the north, approximately the alley between Stover and Smith streets on the east, Prospect road on the south and College avenue on the east from the United States Government came via Receiver's Receipt #489 for 160 acres of land granted by the State of Virginia and later reinforced by filing a land patent claim in the Larimer County Tax Assessor's Office filed on April 22, 1873. This property would later become the Lake Park Addition to the City of Fort Collins. - {1872/11/16}

1873 - Town government granted by County and first city election.

1873 - Grasshopper plague destroys crops and farmers leave the area..

1873 - Larimer County Express, the first newspaper in Fort Collins was published. Early copies of the newspaper were destroyed in a fire.

1873 - Financial Panic of 1873 swept across the nation, affecting the local bank.

1873 - First Church (Methodist) built.

1873 - An ordinance passed prohibiting the sale of "spirits".

1873 - Franklin C. Avery finished surveying and making a plat for the town and filed the plat for record with the Larimer County Tax Assessor. The Plat was legally described as the following lands: F. C. Avery, Surveyor The following lands being embraced in plat: Lot 4 inside of reservation of S. E. 1/4 of Sec. 2, and E. 1/2 of Sec 11, and N. 1/2 of N. E. 1/4 of Sec. 14, and Lot 3 of N. W. 1/4 of Sec. 12, and S. W. 1/4 of Sec. 12, and N. W. 1/4 of Se. 13, and commencing at a point 262 1/2 feet S. of N. E. corner of S. E. 1/4 of S. W. 1/4 of Sec. 12, thence in S. E. direction to S. E. corner of S. W. 1/4 of S. E. 1/4 of Sec. 12, thence W. on section line to S. W. corner of S. W. 1/4 of S. E. 1/4 of Sec. 12, thence N to place of beginning, and W. 1/2 of N. E. 1/4 of Sec. 13, all in T. 7 N., R. 69 W.; also N. W. 1/4 of S. E. 1/4, and N. 1/2 of S. W. 1/4 of Sec. 13, T. 7 N., R. 69 W., but not subdivided. Plat shows Lot 2 of NE 1/4 of SW 1/4 Sec. 13, Twp. 7 N. R. 69 W. not subdivided. - {1873/01/18}

1873 - Oliver P. Yelton acquires the NW1/4 of Section 13 Township 7 North Range 69 form the United States Government via receipts land patent documents filed in February of 1873 and April of 1875 respectively. In the early days of Colorado and the west it was not uncommon for the paperwork completing the legal transfer of property to be filed days, months, or even years after title to the property had been transferred. This property is bounded on the north by Mulberry street, on the east approximately by the alley between Stover and Smith streets, on the south by what is today known as Elizabeth street, and on the west by College avenue. Oliver Yelton sold the property to the Larimer County Land Improvement Company soon after to be included in the new City of Fort Collins. - {1873/02/08}

1874 - Mrs. and Mrs. A. K. Yount constructed the first brick bank at Linden and Jefferson-- "Yount Bank". Mrs. Yount took over and ran the bank after her husband's death.

1874 - 68 people signed a petition to repeal the liquor ordinance. Petition was voted down 3 to 1 by town trustees.

1874 - John Sheldon purchased 500 acres of the McAdams farm to raise sheep, and turned 40 acres into an artificial lake. This later became City Park and Sheldon Lake.

1875 - A toll road to Estes Park was completed.

1876 - President Ulysses S. Grant declared Colorado the 38th state of the union. This was the 100th year after the U.S. Declaration of Independence so Colorado became known as the "Centennial State".

1877 - First General Assembly of Colorado created State Board of Agriculture to administer State Agricultural College, Fort Collins.

1877 - Louis Dauth, a German Veteran of the Franco-Prussian War, opened a bakery on Linden. A few years later he retired to Denver.

1877 - Colorado Central Railroad built along Mason Avenue and was Fort Collins? first railroad connection to the "outside world".

1878 - County Fair Association established.

1878 - Bolivar S. Tedmon and his wife first arrived in Fort Collins. Auntie Stone was running the Metropolitan Hotel and Tedmon took the position. Two years later they built the famous Tedmon House Hotel.

1878 - The cornerstone for Old Main, the administration building for State Agricultural College, was laid. Construction was completed in 1879 and the college opened up with 19 students.

1878 - Fort Collins' Population - 1,200.

1878 - Ansel Watrous, a young carpenter who arrived here in 1877, and partner Elmer Pelton began printing the "Fort Collins Courier" newspaper.

1878 - Poudre Valley Bank established by W.C. Stover and Charles H. Sheldon; building erected on Linden St.

1879 - Charles Pennock homesteaded on the road between Bellvue and Horsetooth and planted many fruit trees.

1879 - Avery House built of red sandstone from the Stout quarry.

1879 - Wooden sidewalks were placed at the storefronts on Jefferson and Linden, complete with a roof and pillars and a green and white striped awning. These were replaced in the 1880s by stone from the Stout quarries.

1879 - First official mayor of Fort Collins named - Benjamin Whedbee.

1879 - New bank building opened next to Parlor Drug Store on Linden, owners Charles Sheldon and W.C. Stover.

1879 - First county fair was opened on a 40-acre site near that of the present Poudre Valley Hospital.

1879 - First fireworks display in Fort Collins.

1879 - Auntie Stone held a temperance meeting in her home and offered a good dinner to any young man who agreed not to enter a saloon for two months.

1879 - New school building, Remington School, was erected by J. W. Jordan of Cheyenne. It was named after Colonel J.E. Remington, one of the founders of the town. Water closets (bathrooms) were installed in 1891 when sewer connections were made available. Demolished 1968.

1880 - Fort Collins' Population - 1,356.

1880 - Montezuma Fuller, age 22, came to Fort Collins and became one of our best architects in the late 1800s. He was responsible for the Trimble and Avery Block and was architect for 10 churches in Larimer County.

1880 - 40-50 men employed at six stone quarries west of Fort Collins; most of white building stone used in Denver, including Union Pacific Depot.

1880 - Fort Collins fire department was organized.

1880 - The Tedmon House Hotel, first three-story brick building in Fort Collins, was opened on northwest corner of Jefferson and Linden. Demolished in 1910.

1880 - Franklin Avery founded the Larimer County Bank, serving as President from 1881-1910. - {1880/03/01}

1881 - Joseph Mason, Fort Collins? "first settler" (according to Ansel Watrous) passed away from a blow to the head by a colt. He was post sutler at Old Grout, Fort Collins? first sheriff (1871), and ran a mill he purchased from Auntie Stone and H.C. Peterson in 1872.

1881 - Chief Friday of the Arapaho died and was buried in a grave near the Wind River Reservation. He was formally adopted in 1831 by Thomas Fitzpatrick, a fur trader. Called "Friday" for the day on which he was adopted, he later joined his people to become a skilled hunter and warrior.

1881 - Franklin Avery starts First National Bank in Welch Building.

1881 - Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railroad Company was granted a right-of-way through Fort Collins.

1881 - Group of Fort Collins businessmen including Judge Jay Bouton and Franklin Avery began the project of building an opera house.

1881 - Yesterday afternoon while the men were at work grading Oak street they came across a skeleton that had been buried a long time. - {1881/07/27}

1881 - Following the untimely death of Joseph Mason, his widow Luella and business partner Benjamin Hottel proceed with land development plans for the first addition to the platted city limits of Fort Collins. The legal description of the land is included below: Subdivides tract to-wit: Commencing at corner No. 1 being 1/4 Section Corner on W. line of 13-7-69, thence E 2623 feet to center of 13-7-69 to corner No. 2, thence S. 2640 ft. to S. line of said Section 13, thence W. with S. line of Section 2623 ft. to S. W. corner of Section 13, thence same course 525 ft. to corner No. 4, and 50 ft. E. of Center line of Colo. Central R. R., thence N. Parallel to center line of said R. R. 1320 ft. to corner No. 5, thence N. parallel to center line of said R. R. 1320 ft. to corner No. 5, thence E. 526 1/2 ft. to corner No. 6 and inter-section with W. line said Section 13, thence N. 1370 ft to beginning: Into Lots, Blocks, Streets and Alleys to be known as Lake Park addition to Fort Collins, Colo. - {1881/09/20}

1882 - Fort Collins approved a water works system and builds the Municipal water plant.

1882 - Old Grout, the original sutler?s store for the Fort, is torn down.

1883 - Nina Ingersoll, daughter of Dr. Charles L. Ingersoll, President of CAC, became ill with what physicians diagnosed as scarlet fever. Several similar cases were soon reported, leading to a noisy dispute among local physicans about the diagnosis and treatment of the illness.

1884 - Free Reading Room, a forerunner of the library, was set up next door to the fire department on Walnut Street.

1884 - First graduating class of State Agricultural College.

1886 - Ansel Watrous sold his share of the "Fort Collins Courier", but was retained as President.

1886 - Electric plant built.

1886 - Lindell Mills, the pioneer flour mill of Cache La Poudre valley, was destroyed by fire at a loss of $60,000. It was quickly rebuilt.

1887 - First telephone installed in the courthouse and cornerstone laid for Larimer County?s third courthouse.

1887 - John M. Hoffman came to Fort Collins. He worked first as a miller for B.F. Hottel and later started his own mill.

1887 - 8 room school house, the Franklin School, completed at the corner of Mountain and Howes.

1887 - Fort Collins Light, Heat, and Power Company was organized.

1887 - City bought 8 acre tract of land west of city to establish Grandview cemetery. Half an acre was dedicated to the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and became known as the "veteran's plot".

1887 - Newspaperman H. A. Crafts acquires the north 1/2 of the Lake Park Addition (except Lot 4, Block 6, and Lot 3, Block 7) from Lizzie C. Emigh and then transferred the entire piece of land by gift to Elizabeth McKee D. Crafts as a gift on July 27, 1887. This property is destined to become the Craft's Resubdivision of Lake Park. H. A. Crafts also owned the local newspaper and began actively promoting sales of lots in Lake Park via frequent articles in the paper. - {1887/05/06}

1888 - First and only lynching in Fort Collins.

1888 - Fort Collins Fire Department established as all-volunteer department at one location. Prior to that time there was a hose company at one location and a ladder crew at the other.

1889 - Circulating library was opened in study of George N. Falconer, Unitarian Church minister, and was located in the Welch Block.

1889 - Bakery opened in Fort Collins by Albert Damm, a German immigrant.

1889 - (paraphrased) Denny O'Laughlin, the plasterer, and his corps of helpers finished the plastering of the new Loomis block this week. The plaster is the product of the Wild plaster mill on the Big Thompson. It makes a clean white wall and finishes up smooth and glossy. - {1889/07/20}

1889 - The frame of A. J. Hottel's new house on Mulberry and Peterson street is up and enclosed. It promises to be a handsome structure. - {1889/11/23}

1889 - The den of the notorious Lide Roe seems to have been broken up at last and Fort Collins is again free from women of ill repute. Two weeks ago the Roe woman with her two companions were arrested and the former fined $300 for selling liquor without a license, and $100 for keeping a house of ill fame. She went to jail for want of sufficient funds to pay the fines, but after ten days of confinement she was liberated on a promise to leave town. The other two women were fined $20 each and costs, which was paid. They also have left town. - {1889/12/07}

1890 - Ordinance made it compulsory to lay sidewalks in Fort Collins.

1890 - Fort Collins' Population - 2,011.

1890 - Ex-mayor Jacob Welch is preparing to open a lumber yard on his property west of the railroad track. He will keep all kinds of lumber and have a carpenter shop in connection. - {1809/02/08}

1890 - The view from Lake Park, both by day and by night, is pleasing. A grand view is obtained of the Rocky Mountains, the surrounding country, consisting of well cultivated farms, orchards and vegetable gardens, the Poudre river winding its way eastward, the city of Fort Collins, the Agricultural college grounds, La Belle stock farm, two lines of railway over which the iron horse and steam car make swift flight many times per day, making , withal, a pleasing panorama. At night when the city of Fort Collins is brightly lighted its many electric arc lights sparkle and vie with each other, it would seem, to see which can shine the brightest. Intermingling with these are thousands of lesser lights shining from the windows of residences. Verily Lake Park is the "Capitol Hill" of Fort Collins. (Text is quote for the FTC Express owned by H. A. Crafts who also owns part of the Lake Park addition) - {1890/02/08}

1890 - An ordinance against fast riding and driving through the streets is badly needed. We have out-grown the cowboy regime, and a halt should be called. - {1890/03/22}

1891 - The first jukebox came to Fort Collins in A. W. Scott's drugstore - cost 5 cents per song.

1892 - Leah Stratton married Dr. P.J. Mc Hugh, Fort Collins first physician. She helped organize the Fort Collins Library, Pioneer Society, and Cache La Poudre D.A.R.

1893 - Colorado voted to grant Women's Suffrage - 35,968 for and 29,461 against. First registered woman voter in Colorado was Eliza Routt, wife of the Governor.

1893 - At the behest of Judge Jay Bouton, the legislature passed an act establishing kindergarten in the state's schools.

1893 - First telephone toll line installed from Denver - Greeley to Fort Collins.

1894 - Colorado law made it illegal to sell or give cigarettes to anyone under the age of 16. Judge Jay Bouton, President of the School Board, announced that the Board would pay $5 for information leading to the conviction of anyone violating the statute.

1895 - Auntie Stone died.

1895 - Judge Jay Bouton moved into his new home at 113 North Sherwood. Total cost was $6,000.

1895 - Lindell Mill burned down. Today Ranchway Feed is at the location of the Lindell Mill.

1895 - Theodosia Ammons, a local activist in the women's suffrage movement, became Dean and was founder of the Domestic Science Department at CAC.

1896 - A belfry was added to the rear of the Walnut Street City Hall. This 60 foot tower also served as a place for drying hoses.

1896 - Sale of alcohol banned in the city limits (repealed in 1969).

1897 - Waldo Riffenburgh, pioneer in organizing the Colorado Association of School Boards, was born in Holyoke, CO. Riffenburgh Elementary was named after him.

1897 - City Council passed a curfew law requiring children under the age of 17 to be off the streets between 8 PM and 6 AM daily. Onset of curfew was signaled by 10 taps on the firehouse bell. Fines for violation were $1, $10 or for careless parents $25.

1897 - Ole Helgerson carved a watering trough from a five ton brick of sandstone and it was placed in the center of Mountain and College intersection. Now located at the Fort Collins Museum.

1899 - The Parlor Dry Goods Store was advertising a "special corset sale". Their $1.25 corset was selling for 98 cents; a Dandy worth 75 cents was selling for 43 cents and their special summer corset, which sold for 60 cents was now selling for 43 cents.

1900 - New library rooms were assembled in building at northwest corner of Mountain and College. They had 500 books and a fireplace.

1900 - Fort Collins' Population - 2,053.

1900 - The Fort Collins City Council prohibited the practice of mesmerism and hypnotism in the city.

1900 - First light plant built at northwest corner of Mountain and Mason streets.

1901 - Catholic congregation moved into the Gothic Revival Church at 308 W. Mountain.

1902 - First car in Northern Colorado - a 1902 Oldsmobile owned by Judge Mack Mills.

1902 - Fort Collins' Population - 3,000.

1902 - Damm's Bakery boasted that they were the first bakery in Colorado to wrap their bread.

1903 - Fort Collins was proclaimed the lamb-feeding capital of the world.

1904 - First horse races held in Prospect Park at the "Gentlemen?s Riding and Driving Club".

1904 - New Carnegie Library was completed with 2770 books on hand.

1904 - Fort Collins was devastated by another flood caused by excessive rain. Only fatality was G.R. Strauss, age 73, one of the earliest settlers in the valley.

1904 - Abner Loomis died. He was one of the early pioneers in Fort Collins. He was a prospector, rancher, banker, real estate developer, and story teller. He was quite popular with the children.

1904 - Welch Block, northwest corner of Mountain & College, damaged by fire.

1904 - New sugarbeet factory opened with 60-70,000 tons of beets to process into sugar.

1905 - Ladies of Fort Collins addressed a petition to the "Honorable City Council" asking that men quit gathering on several of the street corners. They "caused great intimidation to ladies who wished to pass. They did not care to be remarked at or trail their dresses through tobacco spit."

1905 - The Agricultural Hotel opened as the new Northern Hotel after a major remodeling and reconstruction.

1906 - First hospital built in Fort Collins at the southeast corner of Magnolia and Mathews.

1906 - Fort Collin's first high school completed and ready for classes. It was a 2 story brick building with an attic and basement; now the site of the Lincoln Center.

1907 - Fort Collins held its first auto show and all 40 of the town?s automobiles were brought together for a parade and pictures.

1907 - Opening of Orpheum Theater - Fort Collins second theater

1907 - Streetcar system in operation.

1907 - Dan Beattie was born in Livermore and died in 1972. Beattie Elementary School was named after this Fort Collins High School star athlete, and later teacher and assistant principal of that school.

1907 - Pioneers of the Poudre (now Pioneer Association) held their first meeting in the Masonic Temple.

1907 - Roller-skating rink, a tent with dimensions of 120 x 50 feet, going to be constructed on Mountain and Mathews St.

1908 - William Stover, well-known local banker and delegate to the 1876 convention that drew up the state constitution, died in Denver while visiting his son.

1908 - Albert Damm bought Christman's Confectionery Shop at 133 S. College and combined this with his bakery business. He used a horse and wagon to deliver ice cream and bakery goods to homes.

1908 - Charles Martinez was born in Durango, Mexico. Throughout his life Charles devoted much time to interpreting and teaching.

1908 - Lindenmeier Lake, Fort Collins? pleasure resort, formally opened. The street car brought 5600 passengers back and forth; the rest arriving by buggy. The lake covered 120 acres, and the resort even included a zoo, complete with a bear.

1908 - Fort Collins extended streetcar line on Linden Street past the Sugar Factory to Lindenmeier Lake.

1909 - Tedmon House, for years one of the best known hotels in Larimer County, closed its doors. The Union Pacific demolished it to build their railroad line.

1909 - First "Lamb Day" held in Fort Collins which involved the roasting of 200 lambs in a pit the full length of a city block. The residents of Fort Collins wanted to remind the world that Fort Collins was one of the largest lamb fattening areas in America. A total of 10,000 local and out-of-town visitors were served.

1909 - Nearly nine miles of trolley track were completed.

1909 - Fort Collins established law prohibiting the granting of liquor license and/or sale of liquor by a vote of 5 to 1. Fort Collins becomes a dry town.

1909 - Frank P. Stover?s new drug store opened at southwest corner of Mountain and College. A man traveling from New York stated in the 1909 Weekly Courier that they had nothing finer than the store in New York. It was finished in genuine mahogany with plate glass and French beveled mirrors on all sides. It had a beautiful soda fountain with marble counter, showcases made of solid plate glass and marble bases, and brass light fixtures. 3500 carnations were given to the ladies and an orchestra played music all day long at the grand opening.

1910 - At the age of 75, Ansel Watrous suspended his activity as Editor of the Fort Collins Courier and began writing the "History of Larimer County." It was published in 1911.

1910 - Uncle Ben Whedbee, who Ansel Watrous called one of the most remarkable of the early pioneers, died at age 98.

1910 - Charles Clay, much-loved black pioneer, died in 1910. Born into slavery in 1810, he was freed with the rest of his family by Abraham Lincoln?s proclamation. Worked at Fort Laramie as a cook and came to Fort Collins in 1864.

1910 - Union Pacific purchased 5 city blocks along the north side of Jefferson for its railroad yards, freight, and passenger depot.

1910 - Fort Collins' population - 8,210.

1911 - Mrs. Harris Stratton (formerly Elizabeth Keays) recalled a song that they used to sing in Auntie Stone's cabin when she would have her "merry parties and dances" for the officers. The words were: "Oh! for one of those hours of gladness; Oh! for the lilt of the pipers 'shoon; Oh! for one of those hours of gladness; Gone, like our youth, alas, too soon". Mrs. Stratton recalled that the musical group would just play this one tune over and over while they would dance to it. Elizabeth was the niece of Auntie Stone and Fort Collins? first school teacher. She died in 1922 at age of 92.

1911 - Boy Scouts organized to get young men between ages of 12 and 18 to "appreciate the things about them and to train them in self-reliance, manhood and good citizenship".

1911 - Beginning of Union Pacific Railroad in Fort Collins.

1912 - The grizzly bear, turkey trot, and bunny hug dances were absolutely forbidden in the pavilion at Lindenmeier Lake.

1913 - Policeman A. C. Baker asked that the street car cease "bunching" cars in the downtown district each afternoon and interfering with police efforts to teach traffic rules to automobile drivers.

1913 - Severe snowstorm hits city with snow drifts 15 to 20 feet high. Entire town shut down for more than a week.

1913 - With the town's street department in "destitute condition", businessmen were complaining that clouds of dust were blowing into their stores and ruining merchandise. They were arranging to use fire hoses to sprinkle the streets at night.

1914 - City celebrated 50th anniversary of its founding; program included banquet for local pioneers in a large tent at LaPorte and N. Howes.

1914 - Lamb Day was celebrated with band concerts in the streets, a pioneer pageant, a lamb barbecue, a wild west show, and rodeo.

1914 - First elevator was placed in service at the State Mercantile Building, northwest corner of College and Oak St.

1914 - Construction was completed on the Poudre Canyon highway following the main branch of the Poudre River.

1915 - Rocky Mountain National Park established by Act of Congress, and comprised 410 square miles.

1915 - 1,310 autos were registered in Fort Collins. "I can truthfully state," declared Carl le Lochte, state automobile inspector, "that the people of Fort Collins come nearer to observing all the laws concerning automobile licenses than the other people of any other Colorado city I have visited thus far."

1915 - City celebrated its' first Skookum Days in honor of completing the first 2 blocks of paving on College Ave. The paved area was strewn with cornmeal and soapstone powder for dancing and there were floats.

1916 - Horse hitching racks were removed from paved streets because of horses fouling the pavement. Other racks were erected on unpaved streets.

1916 - A corporation was being formed to merge all the stage lines from Larimer and Boulder counties serving Estes Park.

1916 - City Council passed an ordinance against ragtime dancing.

1916 - City officials were receiving many complaints about chickens being allowed to run at large in town.

1916 - Marker dedicated to early Cache La Poudre pioneers was erected near Old Main. In 1915 when Buffalo Bill Cody was performing in the city, he had noticed that the citizens had neglected to erect a suitable monument in their honor.

1917 - The Fort Collins city council passed ordinances requiring drivers to be licensed and prohibiting "jay walking".

1917 - $300 was allotted by City Commissioners to build two bath houses on Sheldon Lake to relieve complaints of naked boys swimming in the lake.

1918 - George Beach was killed in action; first man from Fort Collins to die in World War I. VFW Post named after him.

1918 - Charlene Tresner, one of Fort Collins most noted historians, was born on a farm five miles northeast of the city.

1918 - List of petitioners requested the "privilege of staking our cows on the unused strip of land owned by the city" east of College Avenue between Pitkin and Garfield.

1919 - Bond issue was authorized by citizens to purchase the Denver-Interurban railway.

1920 - Fort Collins' population - 8,755 and Larimer County's - 27,872.

1921 - Iola Pennock came to Fort Collins and later wrote a history of the Pennock family entitled "Pages from our Past".

1923 - Colorado State Agricultural College declared a special holiday for students to construct the college insignia "A" on a hill overlooking Fort Collins; freshmen were then recruited a week later to whitewash the "A". - {1923/12/12}

1924 - Montezuma Fuller, Fort Collins leading architect, died at age 67 having spent 45 years designing beautiful Fort Collins buildings. One of his creations is the Edwards House, now a Bed and Breakfast at 402 West Mountain.

1925 - Landscape Architects McCrary, Culley & Carhart, of Denver, completed and presented a beautiful site plan for the location of the colonial style Fort Collins High School building in the 1500 block of Remington street. There will be a beautiful landscaped park in front of the building on the land between South College and Remington. - {1925/06/24}

1927 - Fancher Sarchet, colorful local attorney, was shot by a gunman from a moving car and critically wounded.

1927 - Historian Ansel Watrous died.

1929 - Local Poultry Market Pricing published by the Fort Collins Produce Company: Heavy Hens (over 4 lb..) 22c Light Hens (under 4 lb..) 19c Leghorns 17c Springs 22c Stags 15c Old Cocks 8c Turkey toms, over 12 lb. 21c Turkey hens, over 9 lb. 21c Ducks 15c Geese 15c Eggs 20c - {1929/03/11}

1930 - Fort Collins population is 11,489 and Larimer County's is 33,137. - {1930/01/01}

1933 - Dr. Aylesworth died unexpectedly of heart failure after a long illness of uremic poisoning from which he appeared to be recovering. He had been president of the Colorado Agricultural College from 1899 to 1908, and a resident of Larimer County for most of the remainder of his life. He is credited with setting the university on the path to enlightened education including engineering, arts, and sciences beyond the narrow confines of an agricultural only college. - {1933/07/01}

1935 - State Agricultural College's name officially changed to Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. It had unofficially been called Colorado Agricultural College since the turn of the century.

1935 - Sue Barton, born 1867 in Iowa, passed away. She was principal of Rockwood School for 17 years. When the school closed in the 1950s, the name Barton was transferred to the new school.

1940 - Fort Collins Population is 12,251 and Larimer County's is 35,539. - {1940/01/01}

1944 - The college?s name was changed to Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College.

1950 - Fort Collins Population is 14,937 and Larimer County's is 43,554. - {1950/01/01}

1951 - Streetcar operation ceased.

1954 - The City and County completed an agreement to repair the surface of East Prospect Street from South College Avenue to a point beyond Circle Drive. The city boundary lies in the middle of the street in that area and the city will do the engineering and improvement work with the county paying for the work on its side of the road. - {1954/07/15}

1955 - Woodward Governor opens plant in Fort Collins, and in 1966 moves to present site at 1000 E. Drake Rd.

1957 - Father Juan Fullana, much loved by the Holy Family Church parish, was killed by bandits looting his parish in Mexico City. Fullana Elementary School is named after him.

1957 - The college's name was changed to Colorado State University.

1958 - City government moves from Town Hall on Walnut St. to new building at 300 Laporte.

1959 - (photo) Andrews House - This house at Canyon Avenue and West Oak Street was built by Charles B. Andrews, father of James H. Andrews of 322 East Oak Street and an 1872 pioneer cattleman, farmer and Poudre Valley Bank director. James Andrews, himself a retired Livermore rancher and former county engineer, recalls that the family moved into the house in 1904, but the father died a year later. Mr. Andrews and his mother lived there several years afterward. (The house was later relocated to the south side of East Elizabeth street just east of Stover street. The land had been owned by C. B. Andrews before he built this grand mansion in downtown Fort Collins). - {1959/08/16}

1960 - Fort Collins Population is 25,027 and Larimer County's is 53,343. - {1960/01/01}

1964 - Aqua Tec moves to 1730 E. Prospect Rd.

1966 - Moby Gym built on CSU campus.

1968 - CSU Environmental Learning Center started with aid from Flat Iron Paving Co.

1969 - 820 Remington Street residents, Mr. and Mrs. Clemith Johnson and Mrs. Johnson's mother, Mrs. Fay Hardy (age 74) beautify their alley with four o'clocks and snapdragons. (neighborhood beautification) {1969/08/10}

1970 - Kathryn Bauder, supervisor of music for Fort Collins schools, died; Bauder Elementary School was dedicated in her name.

1970 - Fort Collins Population is 43,337 and Larimer County's is 89,900. - {1970/01/01}

1972 - Daniel Beattie, born 1907 in Livermore, passed away. He was a star athlete at Fort Collins High School; graduated from Colorado A & M where he later coached track and football; and taught for many years at FCHS before becoming Assistant Principal in 1950. Beattie Elementary School was named in his honor.

1972 - Post Office moves from College and Oak to 301 S. Howes.

1973 - Visual Arts building completed on CSU campus.

1973 - Foothills Fashion Mall opens.

1974 - City purchases Avery House.

1974 - Bus system established by city.

1975 - Community Foundation organized to help use private gifts for building Lincoln Center and other projects.

1976 - Hewlett Packard moves to Fort Collins.

1977 - New public library opens at 201 Peterson and museum moved to old Carnegie public library building at 200 Mathews.

1978 - New building built for City Hall at 300 Laporte.

1978 - Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts opens at the former site of Lincoln Junior High School, 417 W. Magnolia.

1979 - NCR Microelectronic Products Division comes to Fort Collins.

1980 - Fort Collins Population is 65,092. - {1980/01/01}

1984 - Mitchell and Company began the Old Town restoration project and creation of Old Town Plaza.

1984 - The Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society made its inaugural trolley run from the trolley barn to the city park loading area on December 29, 1984.

1988 - Gustav Swanson Nature Area created along the Poudre River near the Linden St. bridge.

1988 - Anheuser-Busch opens brewery northeast of Fort Collins on Interstate 25.

1990 - Fort Collins population was 87,758 and Larimer County's was 186,136.

1991 - Auntie Stone had a street named in her honor near Olander Elementary School.

1991 - One West Contemporary Art Center opens in the 1911-1972 post office building on Oak and College.

1991 - Auntie Stone had a street named in her honor near Olander Elementary School.

1991 - Hostage Tom Sutherland was released.

1993 - Colorado Rockies played their first opening-day game at Mile High Stadium, Denver.

1996 - Fort Collins Population was 104,196 and Larimer County's was 220,103.

1997 - Spring Creek Flood.

1999 - Columbine High School massacre.

2000 - Fort Collins population was 118,652.

2001 - Coloradoans Carl Wieman and Eric Cornell won Nobel Prize (work on Bose-Einstein condensate).

2001 - Terrorist attacks on September 11.

2003 - Fairgrounds facility The Ranch opened.

2006 - Money magazine ranked Fort Collins as the best place in the country to live.

2008 - Tim Masters (falsely imprisoned for a stabbing) was freed.

2009 - Balloon Boy incident (parents reported their son taken aloft in a balloon, then admitted to perpetrating a hoax).