Fort Collins

Long before soldiers built a fort, the Cache la Poudre Valley was a seasonal home and meeting ground for Indigenous peoples, including the Northern Arapaho. The Arapaho leader Friday, educated for a time in St. Louis, served as interpreter and peacemaker here before being forced from the region in the 1860s.

In 1864, following a devastating flood that swept away Camp Collins near today’s Laporte, the U.S. Army moved the post several miles downstream to higher ground and named it for Lt. Col. William O. Collins of Fort Laramie. Settlers arrived quickly; the fort closed in 1867, but the new community took hold beside today’s Old Town. By 1868 it had won the Larimer County seat, and in 1873 it incorporated as Fort Collins.

The arrival of the Colorado Agricultural College (founded 1870, classes from 1879) and irrigation transformed the town. Sugar-beet fields, sheep feeding, and local quarrying fueled prosperity; by the early 1900s the area was known as a “lamb-feeding” center. Rail connections and a downtown building boom in the 1880s gave the city its enduring brick-and-stone character, much of which visitors admire in Old Town today.

Through the mid-20th century, Fort Collins kept a conservative civic profile—local prohibition persisted from 1896 until 1969, yet the post-WWII decades brought campus growth and suburban expansion. The July 27-28, 1997 Spring Creek flood became a defining modern event: record rains inundated western Fort Collins and parts of Colorado State University, causing five deaths and damages well over $200 million; the disaster spurred major mitigation that shaped today’s flood-resilient city.

Fort Collins’ culture orbits three bright stars: Colorado State University, a nationally known craft-beer scene, and a historic downtown designed for strolling.

• CSU’s land-grant legacy, agriculture, engineering, natural resources, helped drive irrigation, sugar-beet research, and regional prosperity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a role the university maintains as a major economic and cultural anchor.
• Craft-beer powerhouse: From household names to innovative microbreweries, Fort Collins’ brewers collectively produce about 70% of Colorado’s craft beer, earning national attention and shaping a citywide events calendar; from tours to festivals, that visitors can taste across taprooms and beer gardens.
• Old Town & the arts: Preserved Victorian-era storefronts, museums, galleries, and performance spaces, like The Lincoln Center and the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, keep culture front-and-center, with First Friday art walks, live music, and seasonal festivals enlivening streets and squares

• The 1997 Spring Creek Flood: Over 31 hours, up to 14.5 inches of rain fell across parts of the city. Floodwaters swamped neighborhoods and CSU facilities (including Morgan Library), leaving a lasting imprint on local planning and emergency management, and a community story of resilience.
• The return of the trolley (1984-present): Volunteers restored Birney Car 21 and a stretch of Mountain Avenue track, reviving a beloved piece of Fort Collins’ streetcar era for weekend rides each summer.
• From “dry town” to beer destination: After decades of local prohibition, a 1969 vote opened the door to restaurants, pubs, and breweries, laying cultural groundwork for a future craft-beer hub.

1. Friday (Arapaho leader): A diplomat and interpreter whose leadership and relationships with settlers mark an important chapter of the valley’s Indigenous history.
2. Elizabeth “Auntie” Stone: Early settler and entrepreneur often credited with helping nurture Fort Collins’ civic life; her preserved 1860s cabin stands today as a tangible link to the town’s beginnings.
3. Temple Grandin (CSU): World-renowned animal-welfare pioneer and author, a longtime Colorado State University professor whose advocacy and livestock-handling designs have influenced industry standards worldwide.
4. Kim Jordan (New Belgium Brewing): Co-founder whose people- and planet-first approach helped propel Fort Collins onto the national craft-beer map; honored by Colorado State University for entrepreneurial leadership.

The river that threads through town holds a federal scenic designation in parts of its canyon and inspired a downtown whitewater park near the historic district. A former grain mill near the core now houses eateries and a teaching kitchen that celebrate local ingredients within a restored brick landmark.