Recent Articles

Charles T. Birdwhistle

(Image from the Archive at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, M00350.)On April 25, 1898, the U.S. Congress declared war on Spain. Upon hearing the news, a 17-year-old resident of North Topeka, Kansas, by the name of Charles Birdwhistle, along with his good friend,...

A Short History of the Berthoud Historical Society

In 1976, the mayor of the town of Berthoud (along with many other Colorado communities) created a Centennial-Bicentennial committee whose purpose was to plan events and festivities to recognize the Colorado Centennial and the United States Bicentennial. As Northern...

Lincoln Junior High / Middle School 100 Year Anniversary!

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!Lincoln Middle School began on September 5, 1922.In 1921, a northern addition was added to the Fort Collins High School. The plan was to use the space for grade school classes (1st-8th) until the high school needed to expand into the space. In...

Index of posts related to race, inequality, or marginalization

Racial History of Northern Colorado After the events of this past month, I've had several people reach out to me asking about what our local history has been regarding racial issues. So I've put together a collection of links to articles I've written. Racism in Fort...

The Story of Emma Malaby

Passers-by on North Meldrum Street often see the “Emma Malaby Grocery” and they ask with interest who the person actually was whose name is on the front of this old building. Emma Alice Collamer Malaby was born on December 12, 1879 at the Collamer homestead near Ted’s...

History of the Union Pacific Fort Collins Jefferson Street Station

As you sit and enjoy a meal in the Rodizio Grill in Fort Collins, you note that you are in a remodeled train station. There is a great history of this building and the trains that transported passengers to various destinations from this building for almost 50 years....

William Slaughter – Miner, Judge, Statesman, Fruit Farmer

William M. Slaughter Miner, Judge, Statesman, Fruit FarmerWilliam Slaughter – Miner, Judge, Statesman, Fruit Farmer by Meg Dunn | Feb 8, 2021 | Frontier Faces, Loveland, NoCo Notables | 0 commentsWilliam M. Slaughter was born on July 25, 1830 in Pike County, Ohio -- a...

The First Murder in Fort Collins

The First Murder in Fort Collins Al Sherwood's DemiseThe First Murder in Fort Collins by Meg Dunn | Dec 24, 2020 | Fort Collins, Frontier Faces | 0 comments Albert Sherwood had just gotten off work at the Tedmon Hotel where he was a dishwasher. It was Christmas Eve,...

Friday, the Arapaho

Friday an Arapaho leaderby Meg Dunn | Nov. 16, 2020 | Fort Collins, Frontier Faces, Laporte / Bellvue, Native Residents, Weld County, Windsor & Timnath | 0 commentsAn Arapaho boy, given the name Warshinun (meaning Black Spot or Black Coal Ashes), was born sometime...

The Frank Millers of Northern Colorado

You might think you’ve heard about Frank Miller from the 1800s and early 1900s. But… which one? The number of Frank Millers running around Northern Colorado during that time period is… well, quite frankly, it’s rather stunning!

We haven’t started the postcard archive yet, but we will be publishing a postcard book soon! Stay tuned for more details.

Articles by Region

(Some areas have one or two skimpy articles. Others have many, many articles. By laying the various parts of northern Colorado out like this, it’ll help me to make sure I’m hitting history in all parts of this region. If you there’s something you’d to learn more about, or that you already know a lot about, let me know and perhaps it could become an article on the site.)