Larimer County, Colorado - The whole text, 1911 (part 7 of 22)

On the first Monday in September, 1879, schools were opened in all of the rooms of the fully completed Remington building. One of the rooms that had been hurriedly finished was, however, occupied as a school room in the winter of 1878-9. The teachers employed to open the schools in the new building were: Prof. John Lord, principal; Eugene Holmes, first assistant, and Miss Frances Whitaker, second assistant.

From the indefinite, incomplete and unsatisfactory records of the county superintendent's office, it is impossible to give in detail the. rise and progress down to 1874, of the public schools of Larimer county. Important dates regarding the formation of school districts, the terms of school, names of the teachers, number of pupils, wages paid teachers and reports of school officers, as well as much other information that would be valuable at this time in compiling an accurate history of the grandest institution of the county, were omitted in the early day records. No system seems to have been employed in making and preserving these important records, as they are neither logically nor chronologically arranged and were apparently kept in a sort of a hap-hazard manner. Beginning with 1874, the records were better made up, some system being followed, so that it is possible to obtain from them a fairly good idea of the history of the public school system from that date down to the present time. Because of these defective pioneer records I am unable to trace the history of each school district in the county from the beginning with any satisfactory degree of accuracy and must, therefore, omit interesting details and be content with a general summary of the results.

From the records it appears that six school districts were created and established in 1868, when J. M. Smith was county superintendent, and these were No. 1, Namaqua; No. 2, St. Louis (now Loveland) ; No. 3, Hillsborough; No. 4, Laporte; No. 5, Fort Collins, and No. 6, Sherwood (now Timnath.) In October of that year four of these districts, Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6, submitted partial reports to the county superintendent. These reports contain nothing more than a statement showing the number of children of school age in each at that time, as follows:

That year it appears that the sum of $1,200 public money was apportioned to the districts then organized. In 1869 seven districts made partial reports, from which it appears that the school population of the county had increased from 95 to 159, no division as to sex being given. . The number reported from each of the districts was as follows:

At that time all children between the ages of 5 and 21 were supposed to be reported. It does not appear that any public money was apportioned to the several districts that year, but the records show that in 1870 the county superintendent apportioned to the districts the following sums :

Pages 15 and 16 of the county superintendent's records are missing, causing a break in the continuity, so that details of the growth and expansion of the county school system from 1870, year by year, cannot be given. Suffice it to say that succeeding pages show that a steady growth in school population and greater interest in popular education year by year, the greatest expansion taking place in the decade ending June 30th, 1909. In the annual report of Miss Pearl L. Moore, county superintendent, dated September 20th, 1909, we find the following interesting statistics relating to school matters :

The first teachers' institute held in the county convened August 20th, 1883, for a two weeks' session in the Remington school building in the city of Fort Collins. W. H. McCreery, County Superintendent, was chosen president; W. W. Remington, treasurer, and Miss Emma B. Mitchell, secretary. The teachers in attendance were: Eliza Ames, Julia S. Batten, Laura Budrow, Ella Bowler, M. A. Brown, Gertrude Coffin, Agnes Cummings, Mr. A. J. Cushman, Mrs. Nettie M. Delaney, Mary W. Duncan, Addie L. Foote, Carrie E. Foote, Louise Gilbertson, Maggie Goddard, Mary E. Gill, Lizzie A. Gray, Alice Haines, John C. Hanna, Eugene Holmes, Clara Jones, Mrs. E. K. Kendall, Attie Kern, Amanda Lowe, Mary E. Lyon, Jennie McLain, Alice Mitchell, Emma Murch, Emma Reaville, Mattie Reaville, Mrs.

Smith, Hattie Silcott, Mattie A. Simpson, Citney Watts, Helen White, Mr. V. Williamson. The workers of the institute were Dr. J. A. Sewall, President of the State University; Prof. Thomas, State University; President C. L. IngersoU and Profs. Mead, Cassidy and Lawrence of the Agricultural College; Prof. A. B. Copeland of Greeley; Prof. Remington, Mrs. Delaney and County Superintendent McCreery of Fort Collins.

The teachers of the county are organized and hold two association meetings annually, alternating the gathering place with Fort Collins, Loveland and Berthoud. In addition to these meetings, a two-weeks' Teachers' Normal Institute is held in the county every third year, alternating with the adjoining Counties of Boulder and Weld, which are districted with Larimer for Institute purposes. From the facts herein presented it will be seen that Larimer county is keeping step with the march of progress in educational matters as well as in other respects. Indeed, its public schools are the pride of every intelligent and well informed person in the county.

The farming lands in the Big and Little Thompson valleys are irrigated by water drawn from the Big Thompson river and Little Thompson creek and their tributaries, and the district is known as Water Commissioner District No. 4. To Howard Kelley, Water Commissioner for that district, I am indebted for the information herein contained concerning the irrigating ditches which draw their water supply from the streams named:

For the data relating to the reservoirs in the Cache la Poudre valley and in the mountains west of Fort Collins, I am indebted to John L. Armstrong, Water Commissioner for the 3rd district, which embraces all the irrigating systems that draw their water supply from the Cache la Poudre river and its tributaries. The combined storage capacity of the reservoirs and storage basins of Larimer county, equals 10,059,410,437 cubic feet of water.

Dam Of Halligan Reservoir

This water is drawn from the streams in the winter when it is not needed for direct irrigation, and also during the flood periods in the spring and early summer, and held in store for use in irrigating the orchards, alfalfa fields and late crops, such as potatoes and sugar beets, which mature in September and October. The reservoirs in the county, when filled to their capacity, hold water enough to cover 230,912 acres of land to a depth of one foot, and the water is used to supplement the supply fur- nished by the streams directly, thus increasing the area of land cultivated to crops. A very large percentage of the water stored in the reservoirs of Larimer county is turned into the channel of the river and allowed to flow down into Weld county for use in irrigating the farms of that county.

during a portion of the irrigation season, was realized and felt, hence a resort to the system of storing the flood waters which flowed down stream every spring to the amount of billions of cubic feet and were lost to a beneficial use. Every lake and important depression in the surface were utilized and converted into reservoirs for the conservation of water, with the result that Larimer county has the the state, and has paid for itself a hundred times over. It has been the means of saving millions of dollars' worth of crops from burning and bringing them through to maturity which could not have been saved had it not been for the water held back for use in time of need. As the farming sections of the county filled up with settlers, the need of more water for irrigation than the streams afforded largest and best storage system there is in the state, The estimated value of stored water is $50 per million cubic feet. In actual practice it sometimes ranges higher than that, even to $75 and $100 per million cubic feet. It will thus be seen that the value of the water that could be stored in the reservoirs of the county in one season, exceeds half a million dollars.

The sheep and wool growing industry was introduced in Larimer county about 1870, there being three bands of sheep owned, one by Mr. Weldon of the Big Thompson valley, another by J. S. Maynard of Maynard Flats, and the third by E. W. Whitcomb on Boxelder creek. In 1871 William N. Bachelder settled at Spring Canon with a bunch of sheep and he did so well with them that others engaged in the business until, in 1878, there were about 75,000 range sheep in the county. As the county became settled up and the range narrowed down, the sheep men had to move their flocks out of the county to where they could have wider and unobstructed ranges or retire from the business. Many of them preferred the latter, having accumulated a competence at the business, so that at the present time there are only one or two bands of range sheep in the county. At first the cattlemen were bitterly opposed to the placing of sheep on the range, and did all in their power to discourage the sheep men and prevent them from locating in the county. The opposition was fierce at times and personal conflicts between the cattle men and sheep men were not rare. They even carried opposition to the introduction of sheep into politics and in the early days a sheep man could not be elected to office on any ticket.

The following extracts from a letter written to me by the late William N. Bachelder who, in 1900, was living at Gebo, Montana, and who was one of the pioneer sheep men of the county, will give one an insight into conditions as they existed here when he engaged in the wool growing industry. He says : "I just noticed in the Rocky Mountain News an article on the lamb feeding industry in Larimer county which was suggested by an article taken from the Fort Collins Courier describing the result of the introduction of the industry in that county. It brought fresh to my mind many scenes and incidents of the sheep business in Larimer county in the early days.

"In the fall of 1871 I left my native state, Vermont, and came to Colorado to engage in wool growing. Larimer county was the first place I struck and when I settled I asked my host, Harry Conley, who then kept the hotel afterwards known as the Blake House, if he could show me a sheep ranch. 'What do you want he replied?' I said plenty of grass and water. He then pointed Spring

Range Sheep At Pasture

Canon out to me. I drove out to Spring Canon that evening and laid the foundation for a house and sheep ranch. There were two bunches of sheep in the county at that time, one owned by Thomas Weldon on the Big Thompson, and one owned by E. W. Whitcomb on the Boxelder. I sold my brook washed wool the following spring for 60 cents a pound, and my unwashed wool for 40 cents a pound.

"I soon found out that a sheep man was hated above all other men because his sheep bit off the grass too short to suit his neighbors. Being young and ambitious at that time I accepted the nomination as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention; those awful, ugly sheep defeated me at the election. A few years later I had associated with me in the wool growing business the Bristol brothers of Vergennes, Vermont, and Henry Dewey, of Ben- nington, Vermont, who was a brother of Rear Admiral George P. Dewey, the hero of Manila Bay. Henry came there for lung trouble, but like a good many others he came too late. Many Fort Collins people will remember him and his estimable wife. We sent him back to Vermont, where he died soon afterward.

"I used to try persuade my neighbors in Larimer county that the sheep business was the best to engage in, but one of them had the cheek to tell me that he should have voted for me if I had not been a sheep man. I have been vindicated at last. I have lived to see one half of the business people of Fort Collins engaged in the sheep business and to see that industry bring them in a $1,000,000 a year."

For many years after agriculture had taken root in Larimer county, the farmers devoted all of their energies to raising wheat, with here and there a field of oats or barley and until the introduction of alfalfa in 1877, the small grains were about all the crops raised. From 1865 down to 1876 wheat commanded good prices, as the supply was insufficient to meet the demand for bread, and farmers realized handsome profits from their crops. That year, owing to the importations from Kansas and Utah, the price of wheat began to fall off, selling in the early SO's as low at times as 60 cents per hundred pounds, and to make matters still worse the yield per acre began to dwindle, due to continued cropping of the same ground and consequent exhaustion of the soil. At these prices the farmers were unable to make ends meet as the cost of producing wheat in the arid region under irrigation Is greater per acre than in sections of the country where the rainfall is sufficient to mature a crop. Many of the farmers were in debt, some for their land, some for water supply and others for teams and farm equipment; so that the outlook down to about 1890 was decidedly gloomy. When wheat growing ceased to be profitable the farmers turned to growing more alfalfa and soon that came to be a drug on the market. Then there was but little stock feeding in the county so that the demand for hay was light and alfalfa would not bear shipping. There were between 40,000 and 50,000 head of cattle in the county, but those fit for beef were shipped out in the fall and only a few head, comparatively speaking, were fed through the winter for the spring market. The farmers had not yet learned that they could ship their surplus alfalfa to market on foot and thousands of tons of fine hay rotted in the stacks. The raising of alfalfa had an efiEect, however, on depleted soils, for it restored

The year 1889 witnessed the dawning of a new and prosperous era among the farmers. In the fall of that year the brothers, E. J. and I. W. Bennett, who a few years before had been interested in the range sheep and wool growing industry and also feeding sheep in Nebraska in the winter time, bought in Southern Colorado about 2,500 high grade Mexican lambs with the intention of shipping them to their feeding pens in Nebraska and fattening them for the spring markets. They were caught at Trinidad in a severe snow storm which blocked the railroad so that no trains could be moved. Here for two weeks the lambs were held without food except such as was afforded by a few pinon trees cut down for them to browse. By the time the railroad was opened for traffic the Bennetts had lost a number of lambs from starvation and exposure and the remainder were so weak that they feared to ship them through to Nebraska. As a last resort the owners decided to ship the lambs to Fort Collins where alfalfa could be obtained at a reasonable price, and there attempt to fatten them under what they considered at the time as adverse circumstances. The lambs reached Bennett Brothers' ranch, 12 miles east of Fort Collins, about the middle of November and were placed upon a generous ration of alfalfa. They recovered rapidly from the effects of their long fast and rough journey and later were fed corn as well as hay. The lambs were shipped to Chicago in March and April, 1890, and sold at prices ranging from $5.05 to $6.40 per hundred pounds, leaving the feeders a fine profit.

This was the beginning of the lamb feeding industry In Colorado, an industry that put the farmers on their feet and enabled them to pay off their debts, improve their farms and build new homes. For the purpose of showing the growth of the industry I will give figures showing the number of lambs fed in the county, year by year, for a series of years :

Since 1901 the number of sheep and lambs fed each winter in the county has ranged from 250,000 to 400,000 until this year (1910). Owing to the lack of an adequate water supply and the ravages of grasshoppers the alfalfa crop was light and many feeders were compelled, for the want of sufficient hay, to cut down their purchases of lambs for winter feeding and others to temporarily drop out of the business entirely for the same reason. It is estimated that the feeding pens of the county will not contain more than 75,000 sheep and lambs this year.

From Larimer county ,the industry spread to other agricultural counties of the state so that in ordinary seasons Colorado turns off about a million and a half of fat lambs every spring. At first the lambs cost the feeders from $1.25 to $1.50 each and their winter's operations brought them a good snug profit. Late years, however, the range flock masters have increased the price so that now a 60-pound lamb costs from $3.50 to $4.00, thus reducing the feeders' profits. The industry has proved a blessing to Larimer county in many ways. It has enriched the farms and brought them up to a high state of fertility through the distribution and plowing under of the manure. It has paid the interest on the mortgage and saved the home. In many instances it has paid the mortgage. It has enabled many a struggling farmer to get out of debt and to bring into his home some of the comforts of life. It has enabled many a farmers' boy or girl to satisfy an ambition for a higher education than he or she could receive at the public schools.

At first the feeders were obliged to borrow money at the banks with which to buy their lambs and corn, and the banks were very accommodating and did their share toward building up the industry. Now most of the feeders are independent of the banks and some of them are prepared to assist their less fortunate neighbors by loans for use in stocking their feeding pens and the purchase of corn. It is a significant fact that the banks have never lost a dollar during the twenty years they have been loaning money to sheep feeders, their loans always being promptly paid when the lambs were sold. Since the winter of 1890, when the lamb feeding industry had its beginning, more than 4,000,000 sheep and lambs have been fattened in and marketed from Larimer county.

The alfalfa crop has also prepared the way for the profitable feeding and fattening of cattle and tens of thousands of fat steers and cows are now shipped to market every spring. Twenty years ago it was a rare thing to see a car load of fat cattle sent away to market from the county. To Senator W. A. Drake belongs the credit of having received the highest price ever paid in Chicago for Larimer county fed lambs, which was in the spring of 1910 when he sold a shipment at the rate of $10.25 per hundred pounds. Mr. Drake is perhaps the most successful stock feeder in the county, his feeding pens annually containing from 30,000 to 40,000 lambs, which he feeds out during the winter months and markets in Chicago.

Beginning Of Colorado Agricultural College

The origin of the State Agricultural college of Colorado, like that of its sister institutions in other states, dates back to an act of Congress, approved July 2nd, 1862. Therein it is proposed to endow in the several states and territories, by grants of public lands, "a college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientifie and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to Agriculture and the Mechanics Arts, in such nianner as the Legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to prom.ote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life."

This act gave the Colorado Agricultural College an endowment of 90,000 acres of land. From the sale and rental of these lands the college is receiving a steadily increasing income, year by year.

The Territorial Legislature took advantage of the concession and accepted the grant made by congress and in 1870 passed an act establishing and locating the Agricultural College of Colorado at Fort Collins in Larimer county. This act also named the first board of trustees as follows : James M. Smith, Timothy M. Smith, John S. Wheeler, Hugh Mason, Jesse M. Sherwood, B. T. Whedbee, A. K. Yount, A. F. Howes, H. C. Peterson, Joseph Mason, A. H. Patterson and John C. Matthews, nearly all of them at that time residents of Larimer county, whose exertions procured the passing of the act by the Tdrritdrial Legislature locating the proposed institution here, conditional upon the donation of two hundred and forty acres of land. The land, a fine tract well suited to the purpose, was donated by Arthur H. Patterson, 80 acres; Robert Dalzell, 30 acres; Joseph Mason, H. C. Peterson and John C. Matthews, 50 acres; The Larimer County Improvement company, 80 acres, making in all 240 acres. The deeds to fhese^ lands. were executed in January, 1871, December, 1872 and in January, 1873.

The Territorial Legislature of 1872, amended the act paSsed in- 1870 by naming a new board of trustees, to-vvit; T. M. Smith, H. C. Peterson, J. M. Sherwood, B. H. Eaton, A. H. DeFrance, Samuel H. Elbert, J. M. Paul, A. F. Howes, Granville Berkeley, A; K. Yount, G. M. Chilcott and B. Tr Whedbee. In 1874 the Territorial Legislature appropriated $1,000 to aid in erecting buildings and making other improvements on the grounds. This appropriation was made contingent upon a like sum being donated by citizens of the county. The donation was raised in Fort Collins and this, with the legislative appropriation, enabled the trustees to erect a small brick building and secure certain necessary water rights for the farm.

The Constitutional Convention, held in 1876, permanently located the college at Fort Collins by constitutional provision and, by an act of the first General assembly passed in 1877, an entire reorganization of the board was effected, changing the title from board of trustees to the State Board of Agriculture and authorizing the levy of a tax of one tenth of a mill on the taxable property of the state to provide a fund for the erection of a suitable building. The act gave the Governor the power, by and with the consent of the senate, to appoint the members of the board. Before the session adjourned. Governor John L. Roiitt sent to the Senate the names of N. W. Everett, of Jefferson county; John Armor, of Arapahoe county; B. S. La

Grange, of Weld county; P. M. Hinman, of Boulder county; William Bean, John J. Ryan, Harris Stratton and W. F. Watrous of Larimer county which the senate promptly confirmed. The first official meeting of this board was held in March, 1877, in Denver, when W. F. Watrous was elected president and Harris Stratton, secretary. The College tax for 1877 and 1878 amounted to about $8,000, which was expended in the erection of a building, planting a nursery of forest, fruit and shade trees, and otherwise improving the grounds. The contract price of the building was $7,280, but it cost several hundred dollars more than that sum which the contractor and his bondsmen had to lose. The corner stone was laid July 27th, 1878, by the Grand Lodge of Masons of Colorado, with appropriate ceremonies, and the building was completed in December of that year. The building committee was composed of W. F. Watrous, W. A. Bean, B. S. LaGrange, Harris Stratton and John J. Ryan. George E. King, of Boulder, was the architect, H. C. Baker, of Boulder, builder, Andrew Armstrong, of Fort Collins, superintendent. The sub-contractors were Charles Brotherton, cut stone; Boyd & Weldon, brick work; O'Neil & Thorn, plastering, Wallace & Graves, painting; Tedmon Bros., tin work.

The General assembly of 1879 increased the tax levy for the college to one-fifth of a mill and authorized the board to borrow $2,000 in anticipation of the tax collections for use in furnishing the .building ready for the opening of school, which had been set for September 1st, of that year.

The second year of the college opened in the year 1880, in September, with an enrollment of fiftyseven students - thirty-five males and twenty-two females. From this on the enrollment of registered students increased year by year as the institution increased in age, until, on June 30th, 1910, the total number was 878. This, for a mountain state with a population estimated at between 800,000 and 900,000 souls is a most gratifying showing.

The first commencement exercises were held in June, 1884, when the B. S. degree was conferred upon three graduates, George H. Glover, Miss Elizabeth Coy and Leonidas Loomis. Mr. Glover is now the head of the department of Veterinary Science of his Alma Mater; Miss Coy, the wife of Professor' James W. Lawrence, head of the department of Mechanical Engineering at the college, and Mr. Loomis is a prosperous farmer and stock man of the Cache la Poudre Valley.

Additions were made to the faculty and teaching force from time to time as the enrollment of students increased and conditions demanded, until at the present time, there are thirty members of the faculty, including the secretary, and twentysix instructors and assistants. During its thirty-one years of existence, the college has had six presidents. Dr.. E. E. Edwards, from 1879 to 1882; Dr. Charles L. IngersoU, from 1883 to 1890; Dr. Alston Ellis, from 1891 to 1899; Dr. B. O. Aylesworth, from 1900 to 1909. Professor J. W. Lawrence, dean of the faculty, served as acting president from 1890 to 1891. Dr. Charles A. Lory was

Hatch Act, an Agricultural Experiment station was organized and established at the college in February, 1888. This act appropriated $15,000 annually for research, investigation and experiments along the lines of agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry, and in the arid states the water problem which arises out of their systems of irrigation. The act provided that the results of these investigations and of the practical experiments should be published in Station bulletins to be issued from time to time as the investigations were completed. The bulletins issued by Colorado Experiment Station in compliance with the act, cover a wide range of industrial topics, and are conceded to be among the most notable and valuable contributions to the literature on the subjects investigated that have been made to the science of agriculture.

On the 30th of June, 1910, the total estimated value of the College property, including lands, buildings, apparatus, library, machinery and live stock, was $688,267. On the 30th of June, 1878, the total value of all the property belonging to the college was $5,000. The college buildings now include the Main building, the largest on the grounds. It contains ofHces for the President, Secretary, Registrar, Director of Farmers' Institutes, Commandant, Rocky Mountain Collegian, the College Magazine, Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. ; offices and class rooms for the department of English, Mathematics, Modern Languages, History and Literature, Constitutional History and Irrigation Law; an auditorium with opera chairs for seating 900 persons, an armory 40 by 72 feet, the gymnasium, and a laboratory used by the department of physics.

Large Chemical building, Electrical Engineering building, Old Domestic Science building, Household Arts building, erected this year (1910) at a cost of $50,000. This is the gift of

United States Senator Simon Guggenheim. Horticultural Hall, Mechanical Engineering building, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, Civil and Irrigation Engineering building, completed Feb. 1st, 1910, Agricultural Hall, Stock Judging pavilion, Greenhouse and Forcing Houses, Veterinary buildings, four in all.

The wisdom of the Territorial Legislature and the Constitutional Convention in locating and establishing the Colorado Agricultural College at Fort Collins has been confirmed by subsequent events and the development of agriculture in its vicinity. The institution is situated in the richest and most productive section of the state, where farming by irrigation has reached a very high stage of development. It is also in the midst of fine scenery and near enough to the mountains for class excursions to study geology, botany, entomology, native flora forestry, and fauna.

Cramped and hindered in its great work by the lack of means, it took the college many years to get on its feet and be able to demonstrate its usefulness, but during the past score of years it has attained a rank and standing equal to the very best of similar institutions in the United States. Indeed, it out ranks them all in many respects. Its graduates are sought after by Agricultural colleges in all parts of the United States, to fill positions as professors and instructors. Many of them are employed by the government in the reclamation service, in the forestry service and in scientific research and expermanent work. A number of the graduates in civil and irrigation engineering have attained eminence in the government's reclamation service, and are recognized the country over as being the best fitted and best qualified constructive engineers in that service. The college has done and is doing a grand good work for Colorado and the arid regions of the west, yearly graduating from its class rooms young men and young women who promptly take high rank as civil and irrigation engineers, scientists, and instructors and who are filling important and responsible positions in the industrial and scientific world. While the institution has had a remarkable growth since it came into being, considering the unfavorable conditions encompassing its inception and the obstacles it has had to overcome, it is not a wild guess to predict for it a still brighter future.

As a means of showing the growth of the institution since it was opened in September, 1879, with only three members of the faculty, and the extent and character of the work carried on along educational lines, the following list of officers, board committees, members of the faculty, instructors and assistants is herewith appended :

Simon Guggenheim Hall Of Household Arts

The following article on fruit growing in Larimer county was written in 1898 by Charles E. Pennock, of Bellvue, whose phenomenal success as a theoretical and practical horticulturist makes him an authority on the subject:

"If in 1859 or '60, when crowds of people were flocking to Pike's Peak in search of gold, had one among the number ventured the prediction that the Great American Desert would ever become what it is today, and (from the progress now being made) what it is sure to become in the very near future, that person would have been adjudged insane and a fit subject for an asylum, had there been such an institution in the land. Despite the evidence on every hand to the contrary, then and for many years after, the general belief and cry was that no fruit could be grown in Colorado. Better native fruits were not in the United States than could be found growing wild at that time along the streams, on the Plains and in the mountains to timber line, and in assortment sufficient to supply the table in a satisfactory manner.

There was one who took Nature's hint, and Abner Loomis, of Larimer county, putting his faith into action, brought 500 apjple trees and several sacks of walnuts and hickory nuts for planting. These were brought across the Plains with ox teams in 1862, probably the first ever brought into the state. These were mostly planted on Mr. Loomis' farm in Pleasant valley, some being given to the neighbors for trial. Some of the trees, still bearing and fruitful, stand witnesses to the wisdom and forethought of the planter. From the walnut seed planted, there is on the old place a grove of trees that for size can be equalled no other place in the state. While Mr. Loomis was laying the foundation for orchards in northern Colorado, Jesse Frazer was doing the same for the southern part, and with equal success. These two names should go down in history as the heroes of Horticulture in Colorado.

"Their early plantings induced others to try, but with varying success. Trees were usually received in poor condition, irrigation was but little understood, and there were other drawbacks, so that fruit growing was not begun in earnest until W. F. Watrous, J. S. McClelland, A. N. Hoag, Z. C. Plummer and P. P. Black, by their intelligent application of the principles of Irrigation and painstaking experiments as to varieties, proved that fruit growing could be developed into a safe and profitable industry. The experiments of these old pioneers and their ever ready help and advice entitle them to the thanks of every citizen of the county who has been encouraged by their experience to likewise become planters.

"Each year brings a great increase in planting, and if the present rate continues, it will not be long before the tillable part of Larimer county will be as one vast orchard. It was at first supposed that only the hardier sorts of crabs would succeed, but e.xperlence has shown that not only all the varieties of apples might be grown successfully, but also plums, cherries, pears, peaches (the last to a limited

"As is general, here too, the apple occupies the most important place in the list of fruits planted. Under irrigation it attains its highest excellence. In no other country are apples so beautiful in color, or so fine in flavor, while so far as observation and experience go, any variety the taste desires may be expected to thrive.

In a commercial way, the most profitable are (winter) Ben Davis, Winesap and Jonathan; (fall) Wealthy, Utter's Red and Haas; (summer) Red Astrachan, Dutchess and Red June.

"As plant life thrives in Colorado so does insect life, and most of the fruits grown have each their peculiar enemies that can only be kept in check by the intelligent application of remedies. Among the most troublesome diseases of the apple tree in the past has been the blight, a fungus that attacks the twigs and sometimes the trunk of the tree. Its fatal effect has been confined mainly to the crab varieties and as they are dying out, so is the blight becoming less prevalent. There have been many remedies recommended for this disease, but no cure has ever been found. The best "remedy" is to plant varieties that are least subject to it, by which course blight is not particularly to be feared. The leaf roller, coddling moth and the wooly aphis prey on apple trees, but the use of the modern spraying apparatus and insecticides render them no discouragement to planting.

"Pears have of late years been but little planted. The first plantings being for the most part killed out by fire blight, it was generally thought of no use to try further But it is now known that with pears, as with apples, there are kinds that do not blight. The Seckel and Tyson seem exceptionally free from the disease and there are doubtless other sorts later to become known. This branch of horticulture has been neglected, and the one who plants a pear orchard of the right varieties has a fortune in store.

The canons of the foothills abound with plums of excellent flavor and color, and experience in planting cultivated sorts shows Larimer county to be a natural plum county. In general, American sorts do best, some of the European kinds proving tender in fruit bud, but enough of the latter have been tested to demonstrate that we can grow plums of the fanciest kinds. The worst enemy to the plum in this region is the gouger, but its attacks cannot be said to prove a real injury. It gives to overloaded trees a thinning which, left to man, they in most cases would probably not get. This insect does not attack European sorts. As with the apple, many kinds can be successfully grown, but perhaps the most profitable are of American sorts. Sunset, Cheney and Forest Garden; and of the European, Moore's Arctic, Saratoga and Bradshaw. Other kinds may rank with these, or even supercede them, but so far nothing better is known.

"It is only the past few years that cherries have been planted in a commercial way, but present indications are that lost time will shortly be fully made up. So rapid has been the planting that as a consequence prices of trees are being advanced by eastern nurserymen. A single orchard planted last season consists of 11,000 trees, and there are numberless orchards of lesser amount. Cherries thrive wonderfully well in this latitude, and no doubt a large part of the country will in time depend on northern Colorado for this excellent fruit. The sorts principally planted are the Early Richmond and English Morello. Of the two, the Morello is larger and more productive at an early age, but seems to have an inherited weakness and as a rule is short lived. Mr. B. B. Harris is considered the father of the cherry in the county, and it is mainly due to his effort that so many have been planted. As yet no insect preys on the cherry here.

"Peaches have not as yet been successfully grown in Larimer county, the winters being too severe. It seems to make no difference as to variety. They can be grown by protection, and it is possible the conditions may so change, by the modifying of the seasons, that in time even peaches can be grown profitably. The present season would indicate this, there being many trees loaded with fruit, and that without any winter protection.

"Any of the hardy grapes do well in the county. They bear abundantly, and need no protection after the first two or three years. Not much attention has been given to the planting of vineyards for the reason that grapes are shipped in from the East at such low prices that other branches of the business offer larger returns, though that grapes could be raised at a fair profit there is no reason to doubt.

"Enormous crops of strawberries are produced every year. So many new varieties are annually introduced, that from the long list of good sorts it would be difficult to name a few to be called best.

"Blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants do splendidly in a money m.aking way, with very little trouble from insects or diseases. Blackberries and raspberries have to be protected by a covering through the winter, but this labor is not

"Of the wild or native fruits growing, the list is quite a large one, though the size and the quality of some of the fruits are not quite up to what it was in an early day; due to the filling up of the country with cattle which keeps tender shoots nipped off and thus prevent renewal. Many of the best fruits have been killed out and lost, though quite a number have been saved and added to the list of cultivated sorts. There are still to be found plums, cherries, currants, gooseberries, juneberries, buffalo berries, raspberries and strawberries, some of them the best flavor of any fruits grown. It is likely that the most value to be got from these native fruits is by crossing with the cultivated sorts and getting new hardy strains with added flavor.

"Colorado is justly noted for the color and flavor produced. So much is this the case that often old fruits in the East are not recognized after being brought under irrigation in the sunny clime of Colorado. And there is very good reasons for this change in the fruit. Heat, light and moisture are three necessary requirements for the perfect development of fruit, and these we have to depend upon. In the East when they get moisture they also get cool and cloudy weather, whereas here when moisture is needed, the headgate need only be raised and while the warm soil is absorbing moisture at roots of the tree, the bright sun overhead is coloring and perfecting the growing fruit. So much is the growing in the hands of man in Colorado, that fruit can almost be grown in color and flavor to order and still, with all these advantages for growing the finest fruits on earth, the same old croakers who preached for years that fruit could not be raised in Colorado, are now crying it is going to be overdone and when the trees now planted get to bearing crops there will be no demand for the fruit. For many reasons there would seem to be no danger of an overproduction. We are now undoubtedly passing through the most unprofitable period in fruit growing; rather too much for local needs and not enough for export. Eastern competitors need not be feared. They have their off years, while through the application of irrigation just when needed, fruit buds can be made to form here every year. Thus it is seen, Colorado can compete with the East in any year, and advantage can be taken of their "off" years to obtain better prices. From a small beginning only a few years ago the fruit industry has advanced with rapid strides until it has become one of the most important industries in the state, and with the same rate of progress it will outstrip all others and take its place at the head. From a horticultural point of view,- Larimer county has bright prospects."

Following the completion of the Colorado Central railroad from Denver to' Cheyenne in 1877, immigration set in with considerable force and the county began filling up quite rapidly, so that at the close of 1878 the population had increased to about 3,000. Most of the new-comers were farmers from the middle west who came, as a general thing, with well-filled purses, strong hearts and willing hands to seek new homes in a more genial climate and where future prospects were brighter. Some of these purchased improved or partly improved farms, but by far the greater number located on new land, either under irrigating ditches already constructed or under new projects that were in course of construction. They were, in the main, an enterprising class of people who brought with them the inbred customs and habits of their former eastern homes. In this western land they missed many of the social advantages they had been accustomed to, and with a spirit characteristic of intelligent, well-bred native born Americans, they promptly set about supplying the missing links. One of the things they missed was the annual county fair, which had been a prominent feature in their former homes, and one in which they had taken a great deal of interest, and naturally, they desired to have it established and made a permanent institution in their new home.

The year 1878 was a fruitful one in Larimer county. Crops were good and the live stock interests had made rapid gains, consequently conditions were favorable for starting a movement in favor of organizing a county fair association. This was done in October of that year. The local newspapers discussed the subject freely and considerable interest was aroused among the people, especially among the farmers and stockmen of the county. It was finally thought best to organize a county fair association as a joint stock company with a capital of $3,000 divided into one hundred shares of $30 each. The stock was soon subscribed and an informal meeting of the shareholders was held in Wilson's hall on Saturday evening, November 16th. John C. Matthews presided,' and

I. W. Bennett was secretary. At this meeting a committee composed of A. R. Chaffee, A. J. Ames and Joseph Prendergast was chosen to select suitable fair grounds, not less than forty acres to be fitted up by the association, for holding county fairs and speed contests. This committee reported November 19th that forty acres of ground belonging to W. C. Stover, situated about one mile east of town, which could be obtained for $640, had been selected. The land was purchased and preparations for holding a county fair in the fall of 1879, were begun. On Monday evening the share holders held another meeting and perfected a permanent organization by electing N. H. Meldrum, president; J. W. Norvell, secretary; Joseph Prendergast, treasurer; Sherman Smith, Charles Baldwin, W. P. Morgan, Thomas Earnest, Marsh Jones, A. J. Derby and A. R. Chaffee, directors. The name adopted was the Larimer County Agricultural and Mechanical Association.

The first county fair was held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 9th, 10th and 11th, 1879, and it was a successful one. The exhibits in the agricultural, stock growing, mechanical and fine arts departments were excellent and attractive and the racing good. About 300 entries were made; the weather fine and the attendance better than expected.

At the second annual meeting of the stockholders, held Saturday evening, Oct. 11, a new board of directors and new officers were elected as follows: Directors, John E. Washburn, Thomas H. Johnson, Joseph Mason, Geo. E. Buss, W. S. Taylor, W. F. Watrous, Wm. N. Bachelder, Joseph Prendergast, E. E. Edwards, A. H. Patterson and H. Stratton. The directors elected the following officers: President, Joseph Mason; vicepresident, John E. Washburn; secretary, Harris Stratton ; treasurer, Geo. E. Buss ; superintendent, Joseph Prendergast.

The second fair was held four days, ending Friday, September 24th, 1880. A greater number of exhibits was displayed in each department than at the first fair, and the exposition was a success in every way except financially. Owing to windy weather and clouds of dust the attendance was light and the association came out in debt. The annual meeting of the stockholders was held on Thursday evening, September 23rd, and elected the following directors : John Riddle, Joseph Prendergast, W. F. Scribner, George S. Brown, A. J. Ames, Edson Warren, W. P. Morgan, John Hahn, J. G. Coy and R. Q. Tenney.

The third fair was held September 21st to 24th, 1881. The weather was fine, the exhibits in each department numerous, the attendance on the last three days unusually good, and the entertainment in the speed ring attractive. Altogether it was a successful and profitable county fair. John G. Coy was president of the association and R. Q. Tenney, secretary.

The annual meeting of the stockholders was held Saturday evening, September 24, and the board of directors elected was composed of William Calloway, N. C. Alford, J. G. Coy, Joseph Prendergast, John Riddle, W. F. Scribner, R. Q. Tenney, Edson Warren, P. Anderson, James Neville, J. J. Ryan and James Sullivan. Secretary Tenney reported the association in a flourishing condition, with funds enough on hand to meet all matured liabilities and money to spare. The directors elected as follows: President, J. G. Coy, Vice-President, Joseph Prendergast; Treasurer, N. C. Alford ; Secretary, R. Q. Tenney ; Superintendeent, W. F. Scribner.

The fourth county fair was held September 23 to 26, 1882. The exhibits were not up to the standard set in 1881, either in number or quality, and the attendance was light.

The fifth annual county fair opened Wednesday, October 3rd, 1883, with a fine display of live stock and agricultural products. Among the features were races between the Fort Collins hook and ladder company and the Greeley hooks, and hose teams of the two towns. The Greeley firemen won the first and tied with the locals in second race. At the close of that year's exposition the Larimer County Agricultural and Mechanical Association found itself deeply involved in debt and it was deemed best to effect a reorganization and start anew with more capital. To this end a meeting of the shareholders was held early in 1884, at which the following statement of the financial condition of the old association was read :

The new association was incorporated with a capital of $6,250, the debts of the old association were paid off and plans laid for holding a county fair in September. The Industrial Association which conducted the county fair from 1879 was not successful. The new association, reorganized from the old, brought together men who were known as men who did nothing by halves, men of energy and enterprise, men of influence, men of wealth, embracing some of the most substantial citizens of the county. These men went to work with a will and made many improvements on the fair grounds, including the erection of a fine arts hall and several additional stock pens and stalls for horses, and placed the speed ring in first-class condition. The officers of the new association were: President, F. L. Carter- Cotton ; Vice-President, Abner Loomis ; Secretary, I. W. Bennett; Treasurer, W. B. Miner; Directors, John Riddle, F. W. Sherwood, B. F. Hottel, M. F. Jones, F. L. Carter-Cotton, Abner Loomis, I. W. Bennett and W. B. Miner.

The exposition held that year beginning September 25th was far superior in every respect to any of its predecessors. The entries made in the different departments numbered 815, the number in each department being as follows: Farm products, 167; fruit and flowers, 20; dairy and poultry products,

186; horses and mules, 77; cattle, 62; sheep and hogs, 40 ; poultry, 20 ; fine arts and manufactures, 121 ; miscellaneous, 123. There were 208 exhibitors and the premiums paid amounted to more than $3,000. The attendance during the four days was about 6,000. Col. John M. Chivington, the hero of Sand Creek, delivered the address. Hon. Alva Adams, democrat; Hon. B. H. Eaton, republican, and Hon. John E. Washburn, greenbacker, all candidates for Governor of Colorado, were among the distinguished visitors at the fair. Harris Stratton won the $75 sweepstake prize offered by F. L. Carter-Cotton for the best display of agricultural products.

Under the auspices of the reorganized association, excellent fairs were held in 1885-6-7-8-9-90 and 91, an increased number of entries being made each succeding year, with a corresponding increase in the number of prizes awarded, and in the cost of management which required a large amount of money each year to meet expenses. The receipts, theugh growing in amount each year, were insufficient to pay out, and the stockholders had to go down in their pockets to make up the deficency or resort to borrowing. They got tired of this after the fair of 1891 and decided to discontinue the holding of annual fairs, until such time as the population of the county had reached a figure that warranted the necessary outlay. Then the pariic of 1893 came on, upsetting the financial affairs of the whole country, making the attempt to resuscitate the enterprise and put it on a paying basis an extremely hazardous one for the association and not to be considered.

On December 14th, 1897, the association sold the fair grounds and their appurtenances to the county for a poor farm and county hospital purposes, to which uses the property has since been applied. The deed was signed by Peter Anderson, president, and T. A. Gage, secretary of the association. Since 1891 there have been no regular county fairs held in this county. Loveland in 1892, inaugurated a system of street fairs to take the place of a county fair and these have been quite successful.

In the spring of 1904 the Gentleman's Riding and Driving Club was organized, with F. W. Sherwood as president. This club held racing matinees every few weeks that year on the old fair grounds track with much success. In July the club appointed a committee composed of Peter Anderson, Abner Loomis and C. O. Culver to examine and report lands suitable for race track and fair grounds, which were being offered for sale. The club purchased 45 acres of the Scott-Sherwood ranch, located about one mile west of the business center of the city for $6,000, and began at once to fit the track up for a speed ring and fair grounds. The track was named Prospect Park and still goes by that name. The Fort Collins Park Amusement company was incorporated to take over the property, the directors for the first year being C. K. Gould, L. R. Rhodes, A. W. Scott, S. H. Clammer and E. D. Avery.

of $40,000, the proceeds of the sale of which to be used in defraying the cost of erecting a court house. The bonds, drawing 6 per cent interest, were sold in April, 1887, to Rollin H. Bond of Denver, and on May 5, 1887, the county commissioners awarded the contract for constructing the building to Barney Des Jardines of Fort Collins, his bid of $39,379.96 being the lowest. Mr. Des Jardines sublet the stone work to Kemoe & Bradley, the brick work to John G. Lunn, the plastering to D, F. O'Loughlin, the painting to Sm.ith & Soult, the best race tracks, a grand stand, judges' stand, offices, horse stables and a high board fence around the track were built. The first race meet was held October 6th, 7th and 8th, 1904. These meets have been kept up every year since then with a fair measure of success. One or two attempts have been made to hold an agricultural, live stock and industrial exposition in connection with the race meets, but for some reason these have not met with popular favor. Prospect Park is also used for ball games and other amusements of that character.

In November, 1886, the people of Larimer county, by a large majority, voted in favor of issuing the corporate bonds of the county to the amount doing the carpenter and joiner work himself. The building was designed by William Quayle of Denver. The board of county commissioners was composed of William P. Bosworth, chairman, A. S. Benson and Harry H. Scott, and James E. Du Bois was county clerk. The corner stone of the structure, a handsome block of red sandstone donated to the county by the Fort Collins Redstone company, was laid on Thursday, August 11th, 1887, with appropriate Masonic ceremonies, conducted by representatives of the Grand Lodge of Colorado. These representatives were Worshipful Master, E. Love, acting Grand Master; James B. Arthur, acting Deputy Grand Master; F. J. Annis, acting Grand Senior Warden; John W. Young, acting Grand Junior Warden; William C.

Stover, acting Grand Treasurer; S. H. Seckner, acting Grand Secretary; Andrew Armstrong, Grand Chaplain. A double quartette, composed of Mesdames W. T. Rogers, E. S. Cain, J. M. Davidson and George W. Bailey; Rev. D. C. Pattee, A. D. Abbott, W. H. Headley and George A. Webb, with Miss Carrie Armstrong presiding at the organ, rendered music on this occasion. The address was delivered by Judge Thomas M. Robinson, which, because of its appropriate reference to pioneer days in Larimer county and conditions then existing, we reproduce here in full: -

"In the life of every individual there are times when, by force of circumstances, his mind is carried back to his earliest recollections and all his experiences pass again before him. This is no vain or idle process of the mind. It is Nature's method of impressing the lesson of the past, to be treasured as precious precepts for guidance in future life and conduct. At such times the past stands again before us to admonish us with respect to the future, warning us against a repetition of mistakes which resulted in disappointment and disaster, and encouraging with rich promises all who will be guided by its instruction. As it is with individuals, so it is with communities, with states, with nations. Some public occasion arrests the public attention, and causes the public mind to wander back over the years of its past history. This is such an occasion.

"Today we are engaged in laying the cornerstone of an elegant structure dedicated to public uses, and our mind is carried back, not many years, when the territory comprised in this county was composed of sterile mountains and barren plains. Savages, depending on the chase of animals as fierce and wild as themselves for subsistence, stood ready with bloody hands and welcomed the adventurous pioneer to destruction and to death. But the oldtimers, undaunted by danger and reckless of hardship, impelled by dissapointment elsewhere or by the life of adventure here, came, and came to stay. They came and erected homes in the valleys of the Big Thompson and Cache la Poudre, that stream whose name is in itself a perpetual memorial of the vicissitudes and dangers the pioneer had to encounter. Looking back we cannot see a single ray of hope to encourage them to settle here, surrounded, as they were, by barbarous savages, who, it they did not always dare to kill, never hesitated to steal.

"Under such conditions, surrounded by such difEculties, the foundations of your present prosperity were laid, and the green fields and happy homes for which these valleys are noted became a possibility; but material prosperity was not alone all that resulted from the work of the old-timers. Wherever they went, whether riding the range in care of their stock or tilling the soil, they carried with them that love of order and fair dealing which is the prominent characteristic of our people. Before municipal authority was established or provided, they had their own rules and regulations; they had their own tribunals and respected and enforced their decisions. It may be that those rules and principles were crude - that they did not possess the exactness of a science or the fulness of a system of jurisprudence, yet they were conceived in fairness, and founded upon right, and they were sufficient for the needs of the time, and many of them have since been incorporated in our statutes and constitution as rich contributions to the law.

"The old-timers came to the valleys of Larimer county at a time when there was no encouragement. They settled and toiled amid dangers and hardships and privations to lay the foundation of our present civilization and prosperity, and when they were accomplished it was protected by no higher law than that which custom gave them - the right to protect it themselves. It is true, that in many things they had their faults, but they also had their virtues. It is true they transacted business in a way we could not transact it now. They could try a case on horseback, hold an arbitration in a corral, or lynch court wherever they could find a man they wanted to hang. But the times now give the people more accommodations than were required then. It is the fulfillment of the requirements of the times that this court house is to be erected. The necessity for such a building is now urgent. In times past it was not. The people then felt the greater need of school houses and churches. The first public buildings erected were for educational and religious purposes. They were content to waive for awhile the convenience of a court house that more important matters might not be neglected.

"But the times have changed. Instead of the cheerless waste that greeted the pioneer's eye, rich fields of waving grain and kindred evidence of prosperity are now to be seen on every hand. The tepees of the savage have disappeared and in their stead on every side are to be seen the beautiful homes of an enlightened and prosperous people. Cities and towns have sprung up and thousands of people have come to dwell with us. This change brought with it a vast increase of business and commerce and has produced complications which require other methods for their adjustment and the times can afford better accommodations than those requiredMn the early days. It is to fulfill the requirements of these times that we erect this building, dedicated to Justice, and we are only carrying out a part of the work left to us by those who wrought before us. It is for us to complete it. It is our duty, as citizens, to see not only that this building is completed according to its original design, but to see that the purposes for which it was erected are never perverted ; to see to it that the officers and all who are called upon to minister to the public here, are capable, competent and honest; to see to it that they are men who understand their duty and will fearlessly perform it; officers whose characters are such as to command the confidence of all who are wronged and oppressed, and to inspire terror among wrong-doers and oppressors ; to see to it that the judges who are called to preside here are men whose judgment can be influenced by nothing save the law and the testimony. If we do this and do it faithfully and earnestly, the building will be consecrated in public esteem as a place where innocence and right are always secure; where the ends of justice are always accomplished, in very truth, a Temple of Justice.

"If we engage our five talents to promote the ends of education and religion, with the zeal and fidelity with which the old-timers engaged their two talents - if we labor to promote the general welfare and material prosperity of the county as the old-timers labored to promote it - the next generation when called by some public occasion to look back upon what is accomplished, will acknowledge itself to be under a debt of gratitude to us, such a debt of gratitude as we are under to the old-timers."

The Larimer County Stock Grower's association was organized August 20th, 1884, at Livermore. It grew out of the necessity for a different and more efficient kind of watch and guard over live stock than that observed on the Plains, the range being entirely in a mountainous country. There were represented by the association 2,500 head of horses and 15,000 head of cattle, which ranged on an area of 1,000 square miles. The officers were: President, T. A. Gage; Vice-President, Frank Kibler; Secretary and Treasurer, S. B. Chaffee. The Executive Committee was composed of the officers of the association and the following stockmen : J. H. Bristol, F. L. Carter-Cotton, F. J. Spencer, C. E. Roberts, Russell Fisk, A. H. Morgan, John S. Williams, A. W. Haygood, Fred Christman, T. B. Bishopp and C. N. Campbell. It included in its membership nearly all the stockmen of Livermore, Alford, Bush, Tie Siding, Boxelder, Bristol, Virginia Dale, Laporte, St. Cloud, Granite Canon, Wyoming, Elkhorn and stockmen from Berthoud, Cheyenne, Denver and Loveland who ranged live stock in the mountains of Larimer county. For several years the association proved a very useful organization in facilitating the annual branding and beef round-ups of cattle and in hunting down and prosecuting horse and cattle thieves. As the county grew older and more thickly settled, followed by a thinning out of range stock, the necessity for keeping up the organization practically disappeared and it was allowed to die from lack of interest.

The principal industries of Larimer county at the present time are diversified agriculture, including dairying, fruit-growing, market gardening and stock-feeding, stock-raising, manufacturing, mining, lumbering and stone quarrying. Between the years of 1873 and 1885, sheep raising and wool growing held an important place in the list of profitable industries in the county, there being in 1880 about 75,000 sheep feeding on the ranges within its confines. The encroachment of new settlers who took up the land for farming purposes, so lessened the grazing grounds that flock-masters were compelled to move into Wyoming and Montana to find pasture for their flocks, so that but a few range sheep, comparatively speaking, are now kept in the county. In the early days of the industry flockmasters were greatly prospered and the most of them made money. Their grazing grounds cost them nothing, so after deducting the wages of herders, the amount received for the wool clip was almost clear gain. In 1880 one firm alone shipped more than 100,000 pounds of wool from the county.

In the list of present day industries, agriculture stock-raising and stock- feeding easily take the lead, as Larimer county is essentially a farming district. The value of the yearly products of the farm and range exceed $3,000,000, and the amount invested in farm property is estimated at $25,000,000;^ In 1909 the estimated value of domestic animals owned in the county was about $2,000,000. These included 9,948 horses, 516 mules, 18,965 cattle, all ages, 5,656 sheep, 1,726 swine and 159 other animals. The character and value of the products of the farm for 1909 are given elsewhere in this volume. The feeding and fattening of cattle and sheep for market has also grown to an important industry. But a few years ago stock feeding pens of the county contained 400,000 sheep and lambs and about 10,000 head of cattle. The feeding pens are filled in the fall and the animals fed through the winter all the alfalfa they will eat, in addition to a ration of corn or ground coarse grain and beet pulp. On this food they rapidly take on flesh and are marketed at the packing centers in the East or in Denver. This business, one year with another, yields the feeder a good profit on his investment, besides making a home market for his surplus hay and other rough forage. The animals are kept in open pens, and require no shelter or protection from storms or cold during the winter, owing to favorable climatic conditions.

Next in importance to agriculture and stockraising comes manufacturing. From small beginnings this industry has become worthy of notice as a factor in the growth and development of the material prosperity of the county. Until the advent of the beet sugar making industry in 1901-3, manufacturing was mainly limited to the conversion of the wheat and coarse grains grown in the county into flour and ground stock food. For this purpose there were and still are four mills, two in Fort

Collins and one each in Loveland and Berthoud. These mills buy all the wheat grown in the county, thus providing the producers near-by markets for their grain, and can turn out 500,000 one hundred pound sacks of flour per annum. They also convert thousands of tons of course grains, like corn, oats and barley into ground stock food, each year, for the feeders. Besides supplying the home demand for flour, the mills annually ship hundreds of car loads into New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Texas and some going as far south as Georgia. In addition to the flour mills there were several busy saw mills in the mountains at work converting pine logs into boards and building timbers for the use of settlers in erecting their unpretentious homes. This industry engaged the attention of some of the pioneers in the early history of the county. The first saw-mill, a portable one, brought into the county was located on the bank of the river near where William Falloon now lives northwest of Laporte. This mill was owned by James Obenchain and he began manufacturing lumber in 1863 or 1864. The logs were cut in the canon of the Cache la Poudre in the winter and floated down to the mill during the spring floods. Later Joseph Rist set up a mill in Rist canon where he cut out many hundred thousand feet of lumber, much of which was hauled to Cheyenne and marketed. Cheyenne was a booming town at that time and was a good market for building material of all kinds. Along in the 70's the lumber industry became quite important and furnished employment to a large number of men and teams. Logging crews were sent into the mountains in the fall and the logs were cut and banked at the river's edge ready to be rolled into the water when the floods swelled the stream and then floated down to the two mills at Greeley and the mill in Fort Collins which stood near to where the Linden street bridge now stands, and there sawed into lumber. The demand for lumber increased rapidly during the twenty years following 1880 and several portable mills were set up at different points in the mountains wherever there was timber suitable for sawing, and millions of feet of native lumber was cut and marketed in the valley towns during that period. When the timber in the vicinity of a mill became exhausted the mills would be moved to a new site where timber was plentiful and more accessible. But the mill men were poaching on government land and taking timber that belonged to the public. This came to the ears of federal officials after a while and they put a stop to the wholesale cutting of logs on the public lands. Since then and particularly since the establishment of the Colorado Forest reserve, the lumbermen have been required to buy the timber of the government and also restricted to cutting matured trees that have been marked for lumber by the forest officers. This policy has served to reduce the number of mills in operation and to limit the quantity of lumber manufactured, but the annual cut still amounts to considerable, all of which is marketed in the county, none of it being shipped to outside points. The introduction of sugar making was followed by the establishment of other manufacturing enterprises which are furnishing markets for raw material and giving employment to labor. The total amount invested in the county at this time in manufacturing enterprises exceeds $3,500,000 and the value of the annual product to about $6,000,000.

Larimer county contains an inexhaustable supply of the very best building, paving and curbing stone and flagging for sidewalks, including white, gray and red sand stone, granite and mottled marble. The quarries are located at Bellvue, Stout and Arkins and at one time between 1882 and 1890 more than one thousand men were employed in them getting out building stone, paving blocks, curbings and flaggings and many of the finest buildings in Denver, Omaha and Kansas City, were constructed of white, gray and red sand stone taken from these quarries. The Union Pacific Railroad company built a spur in 1882 from Fort Collins to Stout, a distance of fourteen miles, over which thousands of carloads of stone have been shipped to Denver, Omaha, Cheyenne, Greeley and Fort Collins. The railroad company constructed a branch line from Loveland to the quarries at Arkins, which has been in operation for more than twenty years and over which immense quantities of building and paving stone have been shipped. These quarries are still being worked and a large force of men is constantly employed in them. The Stout and Bellvue quarries have been lying practically dormant the past few years and about two years ago the railroad track from Stout to Bellvue was taken up. The Union Pacific Railroad company owned and operated the quarries at Stout for several years. There are still a number of private quarries near Stout that are being worked to a greater or less extent by their owners, but the product is now hauled by teams to Fort Collins.

Excellent granite ledges exist in the hills west of Loveland, from which large quantities of beautiful granite have been quarried and shipped to Denver. In the hills northwest of Fort Collins are immense beds of mottled marble, but these have never been opened and worked to any extent. No doubt the time will come when this marble will be in demand for building and furniture-making purposes. At Ingleside, sixteen miles northwest of Fort Collins, immense lime stone quarries were opened in 1904 and these are furnishing employment the year around to a great many men. Lime is used to quite an extent in the manufacture of beet sugar and the supply of lime stone for several of the sugar factories in the Northern part of Colorado comes from these quarries. Some idea of the importance of this industry may be gathered from the statement that the Fort Collins sugar factory alone uses between 6,000 and 7,000 tons of lime stone every year. The stone is reduced to lime at the factory in large kilns especially constructed for that purpose.

Tens of thousands of dollars in money and many years of time have been expended in prospecting the hills of Larimer county for the precious metals, but up to this time the returns in dollars and cents bear no comparison to the cost. They have been exceedingly meagre. Gold, silver, copper, zinc and lead have been found in sufficient quantities to justify the keeping up of the search, but never in large enough bodies to justify systematic and scientific mining. Almost every foot of the mountain region from the southern to the northern boundaries of the county, and from the foothills to the summit of the Medicine Bow range has been prospected, but not a single profit producing mine has ever been opened and worked. It is probable that the Spaniards who set out from Santa Fe in 1720 and explored the country from their starting point to the Yellowstone in search of gold, prospected the streams of Larimer county for the yellow metal, but they never returned to report the result. They fell victims to the murderous instincts of the savages upon whose domain they were trespassing. Later, in 1858, a part of Green Russell's band of gold hunters came north from Cherry creek to Boxelder looking for gold, but their quest proved unfruitful. Since that time not a year has passed that some kind of a mining excitement has not been developed at some point in the mountains. The years 1863-4-5 and 6 were prolific in the number of mineral discoveries. Mining companies were organized, claims filed upon and mining districts established with a full list of officials, and some desultory mining done, but it amounted to nothing. Float copper was discovered in 1865 in Howe gulch eight miles west of Fort Collins, by a soldier. Considerable work was done on this claim and then it was abandoned. The claim remained untouched for several years when it was relocated by W. C. Dilts and given the name of the "Empire'' copper lode, which, being patented, it still bears. Dilts sold the claim to the Boston & Colorado Copper Mining company in the late 90's for $10,000. The company expended a large sum of money in development work, including the building of a large shaft house and installing some $8,000 worth of mining m.achinery. An 85-foot shaft was sunk on the claim, from the bottom of which a cross-cut was driven to intersect the vein. A few carloads of the ore was sent to Denver smelters for treatment but the returns were of such a discouraging nature that the enterprise was abandoned. The mine contains copper but not in paying quantities.

In 1883 mineral was discovered at Crystal mountain and a number of locations were made and considerable assessment work done before a test of this ore was made. It was then learned that the ore carried zinc in small quantities and the camp was abandoned. Copper lodes were later discovered in Virginia Dale, at Gray Rock, St. Cloud

In 1886 an organization composed of a large number of prominent citizens of Fort Collins was formed for the purpose of conducting a systematic search for the precious metals in the hills of the county. Three experienced miners and prospectors were employed and put into the field. In September of that year these men reported gold discoveries on the divide between Seven Mile and Elkhorn creeks and a rush was made to secure locations of mineral claims in the district. The .surface indications were excellent, pronounced by expert miners to be equal to the best ever found. Gold could be panned from almost any piece of crushed rock and the excitement reached fever heat. A town was started and given the name of Manhattan with its hotel, stores, postoffice and newspaper. Digging for gold was vigorously prosecuted all that fall and the succeeding winter and for several years afterwards. The country for miles around was honey-combed with prospect holes and incipient mines and in many instances good returns were received from assay tests of the ore. Some of the ores tested as high as $600 to the ton. Interest in the camp continued for several years and then practically died out although some of the claims are yet being worked through shafts and tunnels. It is the general belief that the gold is there, but that it lies deeper than any of the shafts have so far been sunk. In 1888 business men of Fort Collins contributed a large sum of money towards the cost of erecting concentrating works. The mill, a small affair, was built on Seven Mile creek, but either through faulty construction or bad management, it failed to meet expectations and was at last shut down and the machinery moved away. Fresh interest in the Manhattan district has been created the present year by the discovery of new mineral leads, which give promise of results in restoring the old time popularity of the camp. Gold finds were also made in 1887-8 in the canon of the Cache la Poudre above Rustic, and the prospects of a flourishing mining camp appeared so good that the Zimmerman Brothers erected a five stamp mill and reduction works on the river bank about three miles above Rustic. This was put in operation and a large quantity of ore was crushed and reduced to retorts. These were sent to St. Louis to be refined but the returns were so poor that the mill fell into disuse. Mr. John Zimmerman, however, claims to this day that he was swindled by the refiners and that the retorts were rich in gold. Work is being done this year on several gold claims situated in the vicinity of the old mill, or Poudre City as it was called in its palmy days. The Manhattan district lies 45 miles west of Fort Collins.

A copper vein was opened on Prairie Divide several years ago and good results were obtained from a quantity of the ore sent to the Denver smelters, but the vein pinched out shortly afterwards and the Copper Bug laid idle until early in tricts has been demonstrated time and time again beyond peradventure, but the veins lie far below the surface, and it will cost a great deal of money to uncover them. Deep mining is expensive and so far prospectors and claim owners have been unable to interest capital in their discoveries. Thus far capital has found greater attractions in other parts of the state, but the time will come when monied men will begin looking for mining investments in Larimer county, for the minerals are here.

Manhattan Gold Camp In 18

1910 when further work done on it resulted in opening up a large body of ore that is proving to be rich in zinc. It is understood that preparations are being made to install mining machinery at the Copper Bug for the purpose of developing the mine and taking out shipping ore. There is said to be a large body of high per cent zinc ore in the Copper Bug and that it can be gotten out and refined and leave a good profit for the owners.

No doubt the time will come when mining for the precious metals will be an important and profitable industry in Larimer county, for that gold, silver, copper, zinc and lead exists in the mountain dis-

The northern part of the county is underlaid with coal and coal mining in a desultory manner by crude methods has been carried on for more than forty years. The measures lie close to the surface and the coal taken out of them so far does not possess sufficient specific gravity to entitle it to rank with the best coal taken out further south. It burns well but does not throw off the heat that comes from the best lignite coal of the Boulder county fields. In 1868 and 1869 Cheyenne depended almost entirely upon the coal beds of Northern Larimer county for fuel and the farmers in that part of the county use it now almost ex- clusively. It is easily and cheaply mined and costs the consumers less to have it hauled to their homes than from Fort Collins. A few years ago during a labor strike in the Boulder mines, thousands of tons were hauled to Fort Collins by teams from the Indian Springs and Barton coal mines, a distance of twenty miles and consumers found it to answer a good purpose. In the belief that measures carrying a better quality of coal will be found by going down to a greater depth, drills have been set at work to find out if the belief is warranted. If the operators succeed in finding measures of good steam coal within three or four hundred feet, that are thick enough to. warrant the cost of mining it, a new and very important industry will be opened up - one that will add a great deal to the prosperity of the people. The Cheyenne-Wellington extension of the Colorado & Southern railroad crosses these coal fields so that transportation facilities will be afforded the operators of these mines, should they prove to be as good as it is believed they will.

Larimer county prides itself upon having some as interesting examples of ancient volcanic disturbances as can be found in the entire Rocky Mountain region. These are found in the vicinity of Cameron Pass, about 75 miles west of Fort Collins. Cameron Pass divides the Medicine Bow mountains on the north from the main continental range on the south. The apex of the pass is about 10,000 feet above sea level. It is flanked on either side by high ridges and lofty peaks that rise in altitude from 13,000 to 14,000 feet. The more marked evidences of volcanic action ar^ near Lake Zimmerman on the east side of the pass, some ten miles southeast of Chamber's Lake. They form what are known as the "The Craters," and are found at the northern extremity of a long ridge some 2,000 feet above the floor of the pass. The top of the ridge is in the shape of a mesa or large grassy plateau. "The Craters" are in the form of two deep rocky basins divided from each other by a thin knife-like ridge. The northwestern walls of "The Craters" overlook Cameron Pass, and are in the form of a serrated ridge of chimney-like rocks. The rocks, columns and boulders are of flint-like hardness and are very finely checked, as if at some time they had been exposed to intense heat. The craters are the scene of absolute barreness ' and desolation. So impervious seems the surrounding rock that all the action of the elements for thousands of years past has failed to make the least impression upon them, so that the interstices are devoid of any solid deposits. Consequently even the hardiest plant has found no foothold among them. In the beds of these craters deep snow banks are found which have evidently been forming since the volcanoes cooled off, thousands of years ago, and quit belching their streams of fire and mud and clouds of steam.

About a mile below the craters lies Lake Zimmerman. This body of water is about a half mile in diameter, and whose ultimate depths have never been fathomed. The waters of the lake are cold and clear, being constantly fed from the numerous springs and snow-banks above. It is thought by scientists that the bed of Lake Zimmerman was at one time the scene of some ancient volcanic eruption. A few miles southwest of Lake Zimmerman is -Lake Agnes, named in honor of Mr. John Zimmerman's youngest daughter. Miss Agnes Zimmerman. This is another fathomless pool embosomed between lofty mountain peaks. Lake Agnes is about two miles long and a mile wide. From its western and southwestern shores rise abruptly Finger or Sawtooth mountain and Mount Richthoven, the latter more than 14,000 feet high. Almost in the center of Lake Agnes rises a shaftlike point of rock on the summit of which a few evergreens find lodgment. Richthoven rises 3,000 feet above the surface of the lake and may be ascended by a hard climb from the lake's southern extremity. The bed of Lake Agnes . is clearly the crater of an ancient volcano. Its sides are exceedingly steep and the lake evidently has great depth. The overshadowing mountains are of almost solid granite, but nevertheless, are crumbling and the broken fragments are gradually filling the lak£.

To the southwest of Lake Agnes rises a third cliff some 2,000 feet above the surface. The face of this clifE is seamed, and through one of the clefts falls a cascade. John Zimmerman, proprietor of the Keystone hotel, at Home, after whom Lake Zimmerman is named, and who spent several years in a cabin at Cameron Pass, and who has explored and known these regions since 1880, maintains that this mountain is actually growing. He says that he not only knows from careful observation that the mountain is now higher than it was when he first beheld it, but that he knows there is a perceptible motion to its surface and certain portions of its interior. Always when climbing the cliff or traversing its summit he is conscious of its subtile yet perceptible stir. There are slight sounds from within the cracks and caverns and a constant falling of loose rock. He attributes these characteristics to volcanic action beneath the mountain. If this be true, the child now living in Larimer county may be priviledged to witness the bursting of this mountain into a flame of fire and the pouring down its sides of streams of moulten lava. The pent up fires beneath this mountain may sometime within the lives of the school children burst into flames and throw from its interior mud, ashes and steam. Mr. Zimmerman also tells of a moving cave in the cliffs water for irrigation purposes from the Laramie river across a high divide and pouring it into Chambers lake, was written by H. A. Crafts and first appeared in the Scientific American, October 14, 1899. It contains so much of historical value and is such an accurate description of a stupendous piece of work that I deem it worth preserving:

"The Water Supply and Storage company, of Foft Collins, Colorado, upon the completion of the Larimer County ditch, found its water supply to be deficient. The ditch was taken from the north in the neighborhood of the craters near Lake Zimmerman. He discovered this cave in 1884, and visiting it a dozen years afterwards found that it had moved about fifty feet to the south and its interior had undergone a great change. This gives increased faith in the real volcanic nature of the region.

side of the Cache la Poudre river, near the foothills of the Rocky Mountain range, and leads through the eastern part of Larimer county and into Weld county. Its length is about seventy miles. It is thirty feet wide at the top and twenty feet wide at the bottom, and it has a carrying capacity of 660 cubic feet of water per second. Under it there are some 20,000 acres of land susceptible of irrigation. Owing to the amount of water taken from Cache la Poudre by prior appropriations, there was not enough left to enable the company to carry out its original designs. Storage reservoirs in connection with the ditch were constructed on the Plains, having a capacity of six hundred million cubic feet of water. These were filled at such times as there was water to spare from the river, but even with the water thus held in reserve there was not enough to supply the deficiency. It needed not only an additional supply for the ditch during the irrigating season, but for the proper filling of the storage reservoirs.

"To secure more water from the Cache la Poudre river was out of the question, nor were there other streams having still unappropriated water at convenient distances and tending in the same direction.

"At the head of the Cache la Poudre in the higher altitudes of the Rocky Mountains and some sixty miles above the headgates of the Larimer County ditch, was Chambers Lake. This had been formed by- a deep depression, and covered at low water 135 acres, and at high water 212 acres. The ditch company incorporated Chamber's Lake as a reservoir and constructed across its outlet an immense earthwork dam, which raised the lake and gave the company one hundred and thirty million cubic feet of water to draw upon as they found it necessary. But one day, June 8th, 1891, when the reservoir was full, there came a cloudburst above it, and the rush of the water into it, coupled with a supposed weakness of the dam at the wasteway, burst the dam, and an immense body of water was let loose and poured down the canon and into the valley below, causing great damage and entailing much vexatious litigation. The loss was so. great that the company was slow to reconstruct its dam, and other sources of water supply were sought.

"In the vicinity of Chamber's Lake are the head waters of several other mountain streams. Northward some five miles on the northern slope of Mount Cameron are the headwaters of the Big Laramie river, which Hows northward and empties into the North Platte river in Wyoming. Westward about the same distance is Cameron Pass, where Michigan creek and several other small streams have their rise and flow westward down into North Park and empty at last into the North Platte itself. Again to the southwestward and lying beyond the Continental Divide are the headwaters of the Grand river, which flows southviresterly and empties into the Colorado river.

which in turn flows to the Pacific. Yet the engineers upon investigation found that by tapping these streams at an elevation of some 10,000 feet above sea level, water could be conveyed over the intervening divides and delivered into the head- waters of the Cache la Poudre, and that the water could be legally appropriated as the streams named yet held large quantities that had not been appropriated for irrigation purposes. The company thereupon decided to obtain a portion of this water by bringing it over to the Cache la Poudre watershed.

"They began tapping the Big Laramie. They commenced their ditch which was to act as a feeder, high up in the gulch on the northern slope of Mount Cameron, where the river had a discharge of some 500 cubic feet of water, and swung it round to the eastern flank of the mountain to Chamber's Lake, a distance of some five miles, where it discharges into the lake. It was a difficult piece of engineering, located as the ditch was at such a great altitude, and upon the side of a mountain whose slope was at an angle of about 459* There were three principal classes of material encountered in the excavation - loose earth, loose rock and solid rock. One tunnel 110 feet in length through solid rock was constructed. The difficulties of construction may be readily imagined when it is stated that the ditch was constructed at least 1,500 feet above the base of the- mountain. In the first place, the timber was all cleared from the site of the proposed ditch and then about a foot of vegetable mould was scraped off down to solid ground and banked on the lower side. With the felled timber, log curbing was constructed to hold the lower bank. Where there was standing timber on the lower side, the felled timber was rolled down against it thus forming another scheme of retention. At intervals for at least two-thirds of the distance around the flank of the mountain small streams were intersected. These were turned into the ditch to add their waters to the general supply. The principal of these streams was Two and a Half Mile creek. The ditch was at first flumed across the gulch and then the water from the creek was carried into it over a latticed apron. The apron was designed to both break the force of the water for a better protection of the flume and also to permit all floatage to be carried over the flume and discharged into the creek below.

"The ditch is five miles in length, eight feet wide at the bottom, and twelve feet wide at the top, and will carry water to the depth of four feet. n§ carrying capacity at its head is 240 cubic feet per second, but in order to embrace the water of the intersecting creeks, its capacity is gradually increased until at its outlet it has a carrying capacity of 400 feet. The ditch has stood the test well. The lower bank has settled down solidly and has not yet experienced a single break. The upper bank, however, is subject to a constant sliding process from above. Some parts of the mountain side are springy and from these earth slides result. It was also found that the swaying of the trees on the upper bank caused a loosening of the soil, so the standing timber was felled some twenty-five or thirty feet further back from the bank. To prevent breakage from sudden floods caused by cloudbursts above, automatic wasteways have been constructed. Log cribbing has

"The company has also reconstructed its Chamber's Lake dam, but in a more substantial manner than formerly. That part of the old earth dam which was carried out has been replaced by a strong dam of piling. The round piling was driven to depths varying from 23 to 25 feet, and the sheet piling from 10 to 14 feet. The dam is 11 feet high above the main floor, 190 feet long on the top, and 150 feet at the bottom. The dam is built into the old embankment, which is 63 feet wide at the base and 30 feet wide on top, and is faced with cribwork."

In May, 1904, this second dam was carried out by a flood, and in the fall of 1910 the company began its reconstruction in a more stable and substantial form. This third dam is being built of concrete and will be ten feet higher than the second one and will impound more than double the quantity of water that it did.