Larimer County was created by an act of the first Territorial Legislature of Colorado, approved on this date in 1861.

Dr. J. W. Downey, a dental surgeon from Iowa, opened a dental office in Fort Collins in 1892.

In 1901, 3,000 visitors thronged the sugarbeet factory in Loveland to commemorate Loveland Beet Sugar Day. The factory closed in 1985.

In 1902 W.P. Keays of Buffalo, Wyoming was in Fort Collins visiting his mother Mrs. Harris Stratton. He left here 18 years ago and has prospered. “I wouldn’t come back here to live again,” he said, “if you would give me the whole town.”

In 1904 the biggest cheese ever brought to Fort Collins was on exhibition at the Whiteman and Nelsen’s Grocery Store. It weighed 450 pounds and won the blue ribbon award at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. It was originally made in Crawford County, Pennsylvania and was said to be excellent in quality. Citizens were encouraged to come to the store and test it.

In 1903 three important ordinances were passed at the Loveland town council meeting. One related to liquor nuisances, one to loitering on the streets and one prohibited spitting on the sidewalks.

In 1893, Larimer County, by a vote of 1,136 to 555 went along with the state in favoring equal suffrage for women. Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, a leader in the national women suffrage movement, spoke in Fort Collins at the Opera House shortly before the election.

In 1903 the businessmen of Fort Collins generously contributed over $500 to help defray the expenses of the Athletic Council of the Agricultural College. The contributors included B.O. Aylesworth, F.P. Stover, Guy Loomis, and Dr. McKay Smith.

In 1904, Judge Mills and Clark Smith went to Loveland in the judge’s red devil (new car). They drove over in 37 minutes and back in 35 minutes.

In 1952 the City of Fort Collins discontinued the operation of the trolley system due to losses of revenue and high repair costs to the deteriorating trolley cars.

In 1865, T.M. Smith, acting assistant surgeon, was granted permission to proceed to Denver for the purpose of procuring medical supplies for the Army post at Camp Collins. When the Eleventh Ohio troops were withdrawn from the post and sent home to be discharged, Dr. Smith remained in Fort Collins and was the first physician to locate permanently in the county.

In 1902 Janitor Kelley of C.A.C. had a joke on members of the Freshman class. They had stolen the clapper of the bell the previous Friday and 15 or 20 of them had gathered on Monday to see how Kelley would react when the bell would fail to ring. Mr. Kelley pulled the bell rope and the same old familiar sound greeted the freshies ears. The janitor had discovered his loss and had a new clapper in place ready for use Monday morning.

In 1902 the upper classmen of the University at Boulder held a meeting where they adopted a set of rules for freshmen. They said adopting these rules would “improve the college and class spirit of the University.” The rules included: All students shall lift their hats to members of the faculty; All Freshmen shall salute seniors who will return the salute; no Freshmen will be allowed to smoke pipes or cigars on the campus or on the streets or downtown; no Freshmen will wear caps marked with numerals or letters, except those who have earned them by making some class team recognized by the Seniors; Freshmen shall step off the sidewalk when seniors are passing by and finally, Freshmen will not be permitted to attend the university hops (reported in the Fort Collins’ paper)

In 1902 Dr. Nauman, a dentist from Colorado Springs located her practice in Windsor. She was staying at the American Hotel and came well recommended. In Fort Collins, W.W. Zinn was suffering with a fearfully ulcerated tooth, the result of malpractice by a traveling dentist in Fort Collins.

During the military occupation of Fort Collins through 1867, less than a dozen soldiers appear to have ended their days. According to Ansel Watrous, about 6-10 remains were found. One burial contained a small bottle with a note written about the deceased. That man was W.W. Westfall of Company J, 13th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry who died in 1865 on this date.

First meeting of the County Commissioners was held in 1868.

A new club was organized in 1904 which promised to be one of great interest and intellectual advancement for its fortunate members. Known as the Twentieth Century Club, the meeting was held every two weeks and was limited to 20 citizens. The chosen few would consist of preachers, lawyers, doctors and businessmen – simply all of the “intellectual lights of the city.” Dr. W. R. Thomas was elected the president.

At the 1906 election, of the 3,785 registered voters, 2,339 voted in the election.

In 1878 Mr. William C. Stover as president and Charles H. Sheldon as cashier, made history by establishing the Poudre Valley Bank which, in 1905 became the Poudre Valley National Bank. They opened for business with a capital of $6,000.

In 1903 the Aggies had a walkover in the game with the University of Wyoming eleven. The visitors were big fellows in such splendid condition that time was almost never taken on their account, but they did not know much about the game, either in offensive or defensive work. The Aggies put up a good game considering the fact that five substitutes were played. There was a good attendance for a minor game and the crowd seemed to get its money’s worth.

The Fire Department election was held in 1892. Thomas H. Garrett was elected chief.

Birthdate of Harris Stratton. In 1877 he was appointed a member of the Colorado State Board of Agriculture. He exerted great influence in the establishment and early operation of the Colorado Agricultural College. He was a farmer and dairyman and served five years as bailiff in the district court. In 1866 he married Elizabeth Keayes and it was the first marriage in Fort Collins. He died in Fort Collins on July 12, 1903.

The Ancient Order of United Workmen was organized in 1882.

The order to move the military post from Laporte to the present day site of Fort Collins was endorsed by Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

In 1898 some of the young ladies and gentlemen of the city organized a Mandolin and Guitar Club. They met once a week for practice.

In 1902 W.P. Keays of Buffalo, Wyoming was in Fort Collins to visit his mother, Mrs. Harris Stratton, niece of Auntie Stone. He left Fort Collins 18 years before and has prospered. “I wouldn’t come back here to live again if you would give me the town,” he said.

In 1902 State Veterinary McCape who found that death had been due to anthrax investigated the complaint that horses belonging to farmers near Loveland had been killed by drinking water polluted by acids from the sugar factory.

In 1902 the ground was broken for the new sugarbeet factory in Fort Collins.

Montezuma Fuller, Fort Collins’ most notable pioneer architect was born in 1858 in Nova Scotia.

In 1903 the cornerstone of the new Carnegie library was laid with fitting observances. The stone was a massive block of red sandstone, inscribed simply “Carnegie 1903.” Carnegie’s contribution was absolutely unconditional and he did not ask that his munificence be commemorated in any way. Over the arch of the main entrance will be the legend “Fort Collins Public Library.” Mayor P.J. McHugh presided in his usual felicitous manner, Dr. J.W. Skinner led the group in a heartfelt prayer and Messrs. Ryckman, Auld, Schureman and Veazey then sang a selection with much taste.

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

It was Amateur Night at the New Empire in Fort Collins in 1905. The people of Fort Collins witnessed a “standing room only” sign in front. The hit of the bill was Miss Adrienne Roucolle who presented an emotional monologue she wrote entitled, “Waiting for the Verdict.”

In 1910 Mrs. Turk and Mrs. Arnold circulated a petition to close the post office on Sundays.

Uncle Ben Whedbee’s birthdate (b. 1812). He was the treasurer of Larimer County and later merchant and mayor.

In 1883 the Express noted that police items for the paper were scarce but happily few drunken men were seen on the streets for days. The police must be doing their job!

In 1893 William Smith, a.k.a. “Six-shooter Bill” was arrested for an assault on James Clay. He was fined $15.

In 1904 there was a special sale of 25 different designs of wallpaper, at only 7 and a half cents a roll at Fort Collins Wallpaper Store at 315 Jefferson Street.

The first meeting in the new county seat Camp Collins was held in 1868. Abner Loomis and James B. Arthur were the only county commissioners present.

Born in 1897 in Aurora, Colorado, Margaret Shepardson, namesake of Shepardson Elementary, also had a library named in her honor at Lincoln Junior High School.

In 1905 Charles Andrews passed away. He was a successful civil engineer and railroad contractor in Pennsylvania who headed toward California for relief from his asthma. He settled in Colorado and found relief. He became very successful in the cattle business and retired in Fort Collins. He invested his earnings in farmland and city property.

In 1899 John S. Case was judged insane and taken to the insane asylum in Pueblo. He had been having hallucinations for several weeks that the ladies at Mrs. Case’s College Avenue Boarding House were being killed and he insisted that a force of officers should be kept both at front and in the rear of the residence for the protection of the ladies.

In 1903 Station Agent A.B. Connor was confined to his home by a severe case of nervous prostration induced by over work.

In 1903 the high prices demanded by laborers for topping beets and other work in the beet fields hurt the net profit of the growers. Three dollars a day were demanded and paid in many cases.

A noticeable change was taking place in the appearance of city streets in the town of Windsor in 1903. Namely, the absence of a large number of hoboes and intoxicated men. Town Marshal Beamer had made life decidedly unpleasant for that class and deserves the thanks and support of all law-abiding citizens. Gamblers, boot-leggers and hoboes were not finding Windsor the paradise of former days.

William Wright of Loveland died at the hospital in 1902 from poison supposed to have been caused by eating bologna sausage.

Birthdate of George Robert Strauss (1831) in Columbia, South Carolina. Mr. Strauss was a rugged westerner who was a major player in the development of the Cache la Poudre Valley. He watched it progress and advance with increasing interest.

W.H. McCord, a bricklayer on the sugar factory and Lou Erickson were arrested at the instance of McCord’s wife on the charge of adultery in 1903. McCord hailed from Waterloo, Iowa but had been living in Denver for 5 years. He worked at the Loveland factory and in 1902 he had sent his wife back to Iowa, giving her a ticket for her destination and $3. She alleged that she had to support herself the entire year. McCord and the Erickson woman had been living together at the Tedmon House as man and wife. No one suspected they were not married. Mrs. McCord had arrived in Denver a few weeks earlier, looking for her husband. When she found him she said that if he would pay her $10 a week she would go away and leave him alone. He refused, she left, but returned last week and made him the same proposition. He then told her that he would kill himself, a response, which frightened her so, she left. During the night she changed her mind, went back and had her husband and his paramour arrested. They were held on $500 bail.

In 1887 the first person to be buried at the new Grandview Cemetery was a 3-month old baby named Felix Scoville. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Section. Shortly after this burial, work was begun to remove the remains from Mountain Home Cemetery to Grandview.

In 1901 Loveland held Sugar Beet Sugar Day to celebrate the opening of the new plant. An estimated 3,000 visitors came to the property to see how sugar was made. By that date, 42,000 tons of beets were harvested and piled outside the factory, ready for processing.

Opening night in 1907 for the Orpheum Theater, Fort Collins’ second theater on North College Avenue. Two prominent Fort Collins businessmen financed the construction of the theater which was to be part of the Orpheum circuit. Its location was at 163 North College. The main auditorium of the Orpheum was 110 feet deep and could seat 866 people on its mahogany finished chairs. It also showcased a 50-foot lobby. The entire audience sat on the group floor on four inclined planes so everyone in the house had a clear view of the stage. The opening feature was “Squaw Man” at an outrageously high price of $10. Later performances were 50 cents and less.

In 1908, according to Myron Akin’s diary, the government took the Trimble Corner for a federal building.

Frank C. Miller, one of Fort Collins most loved and colorful characters, western showman and painter, suffered a fatal heart attack in 1953 and passed away at the Linden Hotel.

In 1965 Margaret O’Dea passed away. Born in Leadville in 1886, she was the namesake of O’dea Elementary. She retired in 1953 and attended the school’s dedication. She is buried in Leadville.

Nov.23

In 1916 in response to the request of Ben Sherwood of Omaha, son of Judge Jessie Sherwood, pioneer Fort Collins resident and at one time county judge of Larimer County, the city has finally succeeded in locating the grave of the early day jurist and the coffin has been exhumed and was placed in Grandview Cemetery near other members of the Sherwood family. Judge Sherwood was buried in Mountain Home Cemetery, as the privately-owned cemetery situated east of the city was known in 1879. Grandview cemetery was projected by the city this private cemetery was purchased by the city and the bodies of all buried were exhumed and given a second burial at Grandview. For some unknown reason, Judge Sherwood was not located at the time, the matter was allowed to slip and the result had been that the body had never been exhumed. During the summer the son of Judge Sherwood wrote the city a letter in which he urged that if it would be possible that the city use every means within its power to locate the grave of his father. He offered to back the city financially in his endeavor. Only one old settler, F.P. Stover, could shed some light on the possible burial site. Mr. Stover remembered that Judge Sherwood was buried in a manner rather unusual those days, the grave being lined with brick and sealed with an arched roof of brick. With the help of an old plat, a trench was dug and the brick vault discovered. Judge Sherwood was re-buried by his surviving family members in Grandview cemetery.

In 1981 Waldo Riffenburg passed away. Born in 1897 in Holyoke, Colorado he was the namesake of Riffenburg Elementary.

Birthdate (1817) of Alfred Howes. He was county judge for two terms and was a successful candidate for the State Senate in 1890. He died in 1896 at the age of 79.

In 1880 the truck of the Fort Collins Hook and Ladder Company, which arrived from the Caswell Manufacturing Company in Chicago was reportedly, “a beauty.” It was a complete outfit except for a fire engine. No engine was needed because there was no water system in the town at the time. Water was from wells or the water wagon. The new fire truck consisted of a carriage, ladders, a dozen buckets, headlights, lanterns, chain, ropes and axes.

A flour mill, which was originally begun by Auntie Stone and Clay Peterson, changed hands several times. The mill on the Poudre River was driven by water power. In 1916, motor power was first used in the mill with a water wheel.

26-28

In 1879 the State Agricultural College held its first Farmer’s Institute. Speakers discussed soil analysis, and alfalfa and the relation of the College to people of Colorado.

In 1883 there was considerable excitement at Lindenmeier’s Saloon. Constable Sam Brainard was called to the place where he found Cal Mallaby waving two self-cocking Smith & Wesson revolvers. Under the influence of alcohol, he was angry with his brother who he claimed at greatly wronged him. He was pacified and went home to sleep it off. The next morning he appeared before Justice Gunn, feeling embarrassed at his conduct and promising to behave himself in the future. No fines were issued.

In 1903 Frank Miller held a $15,000 mortgage on the new Elks Lodge building at Walnut and Linden Streets.

In 1903 Marshall Place was working on obtaining “John Doe” warrants to run a number of hoboes out of the city. They had been loafing around town lately.

A.W. Scott had the handsomest National Cash Register ever seen in Fort Collins in 1902. It costs about $450 and could do almost anything but talk.

Enos A. Mills of Estes Park passed through Fort Collins enroute to Greeley where he addressed the public on the subject of forestry in 1905. Mr. Mills was spending his time and efforts to arousing public sentiment on the subject of protecting and preserving the forests of the state. He was accomplishing a great deal of good.

In 1970 William “Bill” Lopez passed away. Born in Fort Collins in 1921, he graduated from CLP with honors. He taught Spanish at Lesher Junior and Poudre High School. He also served as County Commissioner for 5 years. Lopez Elementary was named after this much respected man.

Other Events in November

1836

A large party of trappers and employees in the service of the American Fur Company, while on their way from St. Louis to Green River, Wyoming with a heavily loaded wagon, camped for the night on the river bank. During the night a severe snow storm set in and continued for many days. They dug a hole in the ground, stowed their goods, and covered any traces of their hidden cache. The party, their load considerably lightened, then went on their way over the mountain to their destination. From this circumstance comes the name Cache La Poudre (French for “hide the powder”). A monument marks the spot where these trappers hid their cache.

1880

Franklin C. Avery founded the Larimer County Bank, serving as President from 1881-1910

1886

In 1886 Larimer County voters approved a county bond issue of $40,000 for construction of a new courthouse in the square that had been set aside in the “New Town” plan for the purpose. The general contractor was Mr. Desjardines on his bid of $39,379.96. The cornerstone was laid August 11, 1887, with Masonic ceremonies. The brick and stone building had two stores, a basement, and a tall observation tower over the north entrance. Its side closely adjoined the present courthouse on the north.

1909

Fancher Sarchet and Frank Annis represented Lady Catherine Moon in court for her divorce from Sir Cecil Moon. She claimed desertion and non-support.

November in Early Fort Collins

Other Events in November