Northern Colorado History Book List
This list is a work in progress. The number of history books that have been written about Northern Colorado is both impressive and somewhat astounding. This is by no means a fully comprehensive list. If there is a book that you know that that is missing here, please let me know. (If you can send it in the same order as books are listed here, then it’ll be an easy cut-and-paste to add them in. Title. Author. Publisher, Date.)
Books will be listed first be general region, starting with Larimer County as a whole and then moving generally from north to south. Use the Table of Contents to jump to a section if you don’t want to spend the day scrolling. Under each heading, books are listed chronologically according to the year that the book was first printed.
Table of Contents
- Regional: Larimer County – Weld County – Northern Colorado/Southern Wyoming Region
- Northern Larimer and Weld Counties: Virginia Dale – Upper Boxelder – Red Mountain Open Space – Soapstone Open Space – Pawnee Grasslands – Red Feather Lakes – Livermore – Middle Boxelder – Buckeye – Owl Canyon – Wellington – Nunn – New Raymer
- Mountain Areas of Northern Colorado: Poudre Canyon – Bellvue – Laporte – Stove Prairie – Masonville – Estes Park – Big Thompson Canyon
- Fort Collins
- Loveland
- Greeley – Evans
- Middle and Southern Larimer and Weld Counties: Timnath – Windsor – Ault – Eaton – Dearfield – Berthoud – Johnstown – Fort Morgan – Brush
- Educational History: Universities and Schools
- Fictional Accounts Set Locally
- Local People Abroad: Books include some information about local history.
- Local Cookbooks
Regional Books
Larimer County – Weld County – Northern Colorado/Southern Wyoming Region
History of Larimer County, Colorado. Ansel Watrous. The Courier Printing & Publishing Company, 1911. (Available online through the Internet Archive.)
The Epic of Larimer County. Shirley Rietveld Parrish. Don-Art Printers, Inc., 1960.
Over Hill and Vale: Volume III. History of Northern Colorado. Harold Marion Dunning. Johnson Publishing Co., 1971.
Railroads of Northern Colorado. Kenneth Jessen. Pruett Publishing Co., 1982.
Larimer County Place Names: A History of Names on County Maps. Mary Hagen, editor. Old Army Press, 1984.
The History of Larimer County, Colorado. Volume I, 1985. Arlene Briggs Ahlbrandt, Kathryn “Kate” Stieben, editors. Curtis Media Corporation, 1985.
The History of Larimer County, Colorado. Volume II, 1860s – 1987. Andrew J. Morris, Arlene Briggs Ahlbrandt, Kathryn Stieben. Adrew J. Morris, editor. Curtis Media Corporation, 1987.
The Wyoming/Colorado Railroad. Kenneth Jessen. J. V. Publications, 1992.
An Ear in His Pocket: The Life of Jack Slade. Roy Paul O’Dell & Kenneth C. Jessen. J. V. Publications. 1996.
Women to Remember of Northern Colorado. Arlene Ahlbrandt and Mary Hagen. Azure Publishing, 2001.
101 Memorable Men of Northern Colorado. Arlene Ahlbrandt. 2002.
Fort Collins & Larimer County: An Illustrated History. Thomas J. Noel and Ron D. Sladek. Heritage Media Corp., 2002.
Northern Colorado Ghost Stories: True Ghost Stories from Estes Park, Fort Collins, Livermore, Longmont & Loveland. Nancy Hansford. Indian Hills Bookworks, 2005, 2006, 2007.
Pioneer Journey: Centennial Celebration, Historical & Pictorial Review, 1906-2006. Dora M. Hildebrand, editor. Dr. Kenneth L. Goldsberry and Wayne C. Sundberg, assistant editors. The Pioneer Association. 2006.
People of the Poudre: An Ethnohistory of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area, AD 1500 – 1880. Lucy Burris. 2006. (Available online on the City of Fort Collins website.)
The Lincoln Highway in Colorado. Lee Whiteley and Jane Whiteley. Johnson Printing, 2007.
The German-Russians: In Words and Pictures. Dr. William Bosch. 2015.
William O. Collins: From the Mayflower to the Rockies With Stope in Between. Brian Carroll. Old Army Press, 2021.
Northern Larimer & Weld Counties
Virginia Dale – Upper Boxelder – Red Mountain Open Space – Soapstone Open Space – Pawnee Grasslands
– Livermore – Middle Boxelder – Buckeye – Owl Canyon – Wellington – Nunn – New Raymer – Bellvue – Laporte
Among these hills: A history of Livermore, Colorado. Doris Greenacre. Livermore Women’s Club, 1995.
Pioneer History of Soapstone Prairie. Riding, Suzy. 2019. (Available online through the Fort Collins Natural Areas website.)
History of the Bingham Hill Cemetery: Laporte & Bellvue. Rose L Brinks. 1990, 1998, 2015.
Ranch Histories of Livermore and Vicinity: 1884 – 1956. Livermore Woman’s Club. 1993.
From Provost to Brinks: 129 years of history, 1858 to 1987. Rose L. Brinks. 1987.
Jacob Flowers: “Uncle Jake” & His Family. Jeanne Flowers. Gorham Printing, 2018.
Mountain Areas of Northern Colorado
Red Feather Lakes – Poudre Canyon – Stove Prairie – Masonville – Estes Park – Big Thompson Canyon
The Story of Estes Park and Guidebook. Enos A. Mills. 1905.
Cache LaPoudre: “The River”. Norman Walter Fry. 1954.
A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains. Isabella L. Bird. The Western Frontier Library, 1960.
The Life of Rocky Mountain Jim (James Nugent). Harold Marion Dunning. Johnson Publishing Company, 1967.
Estes Park and Trail Ridge. Caroline Bancroft. Johnson Publishing Co., 1967.
North Park. Hazel Gresham. Pioneer Printing, 1975, 2006.
Estes Park: From the Beginning. Dave Hicks. Eagan Printing Co., 1976.
Cache La Poudre: The Natural History of a Rocky Mountain River. Howard Ensign Evans and Mary Alice Evans. University Press of Colorado, 1991.
Red Feather Lakes: The First Hundred Years. Evadene Burris Swanson with assistance from Ted Dunning. 1971, 1986, 2001.
Weaving Mountain Memories, Recollection of the Allenspark Area. Lorna Knowlton, The Estes Park Area Historical Museum Estes Park, Colorado. McNaughton and Gunn 1989.
Apples of the Mummy’s Eye: The Dickerson Sisters. Elyse Deffke Bliss, from interviews with Alice C. Dickerson. Johnson Printing, 1994, 1999.
Estes Park: A Quick History, Including Rocky Mountain National Park. Kenneth Jessen. J V Publications, 1996.
Those Crazy Pioneers: with the Life and Times of Lady Moon & Vignettes of History. Lafi Miller. Lafi Miller, 2000.
Estes Park’s Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival: The First 35 Years. The Memoirs of Jim Durward. James Durward and James H. Pickering. The Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival inc., 2012.
Fort Collins
Including Harmony and other areas subsumed into Fort Collins.
Murder and Mirth: The Story of a Colorado Trial Lawyer. Francher Sarchet. Sage Books, 1956.
The Fort Collins Area. Volume one: the graphic past. The Fort Collins Area Centennial Commission, Inc., 1964.
The Fort Collins Area. Volume two: at the centennial. The Fort Collins Area Centennial Commission, Inc., 1964.
Fort Collins: The Post – The Town. Guy Peterson. The Old Army Press, 1972.
Fort Collins Yesterdays. Evadene Burris Swanson. Don-Art Printers, Inc., 1975.
Historic Fort Collins. Wayne Sundberg. The Old Army Press, 1975.
Streets of Fort Collins: A History of Fort Collins, Colorado, Through Its Street Names. Charlene Tresner. McMillen Publishing Co., 1977. (Revised 2007. Susan Hoskinson and Barbara Messineo editors.)
Here Today, Here Tomorrow: A guide to the historic areas of Fort Collins, Colorado. Citizen Printing, 1984.
The Fort Collins Museum: From the Janis Cabin to A Civic Pressure, 1937-1992. Ralph Giddings. Parkview Publishing Co., 1992.
Fort Collins: A Pictorial History. Barbara Allbrandt Fleming. The Donning Company, 1985. (Revised 1992.)
Talking About Fort Collins: Selections from Oral Histories. Friends of the Library, 1992, 1995.
Visions Along The Poudre Valley. Phil Walker. Philip Walker Communications, 1995.
Agriculture in the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area 1862-1994. Carl McWilliams and Karen McWilliams. 1995. (Available online on the City of Fort Collins website.)
Annie, The Railroad Dog: A True Story. Arlene Briggs Ahlbrandt. Citizen Printing, 1998.
Those Crazy Pioneers: with the Life and Times of Lady Moon & Vignettes of History. Lafi Miller. Lafi Miller, 2000.
Fort Collins Highlights: The last fifty years…. Nancy Hansford. Perrie McMillen, contributing interviewer. Indian Hills Bookworks, 2001.
Work Renders Life Sweet: Germans from Russia in Fort Collins. Adam Thomas, SWCA Environmental Consultants, 2003. (Available online on the City of Fort Collins website.)
Hang Your Wagon to a Star: Hispanics in Fort Collins, 1900-2000. Adam Thomas, SWCA Environmental Consultants, 2003. (Available online on the City of Fort Collins website.)
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: PSD R-1. Adam Thomas, Historitecture, 2004. (Available online on the City of Fort Collins website.)
Touching Lives: A History of Medicine in Fort Collins. Stanley W. Henson. 2004.
Fort Collins’ First Water Works. Wayne C. Sundberg. Poudre Landmarks Foundation. 2004.
Fort Collins: The Miller Photographs. Barbara Fleming and Malcolm McNeill. Acadia Publishing, 2009.
Fort Collins Then & Now. Barbara Fleming and Malcolm McNeill. Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
Ghosts of Fort Collins. Lori Juszak. The History Press, 2012.
Legendary Locals of Fort Collins. Barbara Fleming. Arcadia Publishing, 2013.
The Automobile Comes to Fort Collins. Malcolm E. McNeill. 2013.
Fort Collins: A History. Barbara Fleming. The History Press, 2014.
Fort Collins at 150 – A Sesquicentennial History. Wayne Sundberg. HPN Books, 2014.
Hidden History of Fort Collins. Barbara Fleming. History Press, 2017.
In Search of Harmony… an anthology, and its companion volume, In Search of Harmony… family trees. Lois Williamson Peltz. LAPnotes Press, 2017.
The Civil War Diary of Frederick R. Baker: Private in Lincoln’s Union Light Guard, Washington City, January 1-September 14, 1865: With Footnotes and Historical Context. Brian Carroll and Michael Viney. The Old Army Press, 2019.
Fort Collins History in My Hand: The Odyssey of Frederick R. Baker’s Civil War Sabre. Brian Carroll. Citizen Printing, 2020.
William O. Collins: From the Mayflower to the Rockies With Stope in Between. Brian Carroll. Old Army Press, 2021.
— The Fort Collins Historical Society also has a book list. —
Other Media Forms: videos, journals, websites
“Denver and Interurban (Fort Collins Division) and the Fort Collins Municipal Railway,” Pacific Railway Journal. Donald Duke, editor. John O’Connell, Associate Editor. Volume 2, Number 2. June 1957.
Fort Collins Lost: The Wrecking Ball of Progress, written and directed by Wayne Sundberg. SundDay Research Associates, 1994. (Available on YouTube.)
Fort Collins Choice City for Whom? Produced by Betty Aragon. BeReelPictures. (Available on YouTube.)
Loveland
Loveland-Big Thompson Valley: 1877 – 1977 Centennial. Clara Ball, editor. Loveland-Big Thompson Valley Centennial Commission, Inc., 1975.
Thompson Valley Tales: A book about Estes Park, Loveland, Berthoud, Johnstown, and Millikin. Kenneth Jessen. 1984.
A Guide to Historic Loveland. Loveland Museum and Gallery, 1988.
Loveland’s Historic Downtown: A Guide to Buildings. Carl McWilliams and Jason Marmor did field recording and archival research with assistance from Karen McWilliams, Cindy Cooperider, and Susan P. Ison. Loveland Museum/Gallery, 2001.
Loveland Publishers & Pioneers. Reporter-Herald. Lehman Communications Corp., 2005.
Exploring Loveland’s Hidden Past: The People & Places of Early Loveland, Colorado. Jeff Feneis and Cindy Feneis. Loveland Museum/Gallery, 2007.
Loveland. Laurel Benson and Debra Benson Faulkner. Arcadia Publishing, 2012.
Loveland Memories: The Early Years – A Pictorial History. Reporter-Herald. Pediment Publishing, 2018.
Greeley / Evans
A History: Greeley and The Union Colony of Colorado. David Boyd. The Greeley Tribune Press. 1890. (Reprinted 2013.)
1870-1970, The First Hundred Years, Greeley, Colorado. Barbara Smith. Greater Greeley, 1970.
White Gold Laborers: The Story of Greeley’s Spanish Colony. Jody Lopez. Authorhouse, 2007.
Greeley. Peggy Ford Waldo and Greeley History Museum. Arcadia Publishing, 2016.
Confluence: The Story of Greeley Water. Gregory J Hobbs and Michael Welsh. Jordan Design, 2020.
Middle and Southern Larimer and Weld Counties
Timnath – Windsor – Ault – Eaton – Dearfield – Berthoud – Johnstown – Millikin – Fort Morgan – Brush
Memories of Early Days in the Cache la Poudre Valley. C. A. Duncan. Colorado Printing Co., 1925.
Thompson Valley Tales: A book about Estes Park, Loveland, Berthoud, Johnstown, and Millikin. Kenneth Jessen. 1984.
Windsor. Rachel D. Kline and the Windsor-Severance Historical Society. Arcadia Publishing, 2012.
Educational History
Universities and Schools
Democracy’s College in the Centennial State: A History of Colorado State University. James E. Hansen II. 1977.
Democracy’s University: A History of Colorado State University, 1970-2003. James E. Hansen II. 2007.
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: PSD R-1. Adam Thomas, Historitecture, 2004. (Available online on the City of Fort Collins website.)
Poudre School District R-1: A Brief History of Poudre School District 1866-2010. Wayne Sundberg. 2010.
University of Northern Colorado. Mark Anderson and Jay Trask. Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
CSU’s Sense of Place: A Campus History of Colorado’s Land-Grant University. James E. Hansen II. 2018.
Fictional Accounts Set Locally
These books are clearly fiction, though some locational facts are included. Some books are more factual than others.
Centennial. James A. Michener. Random House, 1974.
Stout. Charles H. Schnapps, as told by Shamus O’ Donnabhain. Charles R. Sanders. West-O-Tec Ltd., Mitchener Printing, 1981.
Local People Abroad
These books include some information about local history.
Hugo’s Odyssey: The Lure of the South Sea Islands. Hugo Frey. Institute Press, 1942.
Life In The Jungles: A Story About World War II. Wilbur P. Ball. Royal Printing Company, 1989, 1990.
Local Cookbooks
The Avery House Collection: Recipes and Biographical Sketches. Poudre Landmarks Foundation. 1978, 2015.
Centennial Cookbook: Windsor, Colorado 1890-1990. Windsor-Severance Historical Society. Walter’s Cookbooks, 1990.