Camp Collins
Encyclopedia
Camp Collins was a 19th century outpost of the United States Army
in the Colorado Territory
. The fort was commissioned in the summer of 1862 to protect the Overland Trail
from attacks by Native Americans
in a conflict that later became known as the Colorado War
. Located along the Cache la Poudre River
in Larimer County
, it was relocated from its initial location near Laporte
after a devastating flood. Its second location downstream on the Poudre was used until 1866 and became the nucleus around which the City of Fort Collins
was founded.
. The mission of the fort was to protect the emigrant trains and Overland Stage lines on the Overland Trail from the growing hostile attacks of the Plains Indians
. The growing hostility of the Sioux
to white encroachment further north had forced the temporary relocation of the Emigrant Trail
from the North Platte River
to the South Platte
valley. Although relations with the Arapaho
and Cheyenne
in the vicinity of the camp were largely peaceful, the hostility of the Pawnee and other tribes on the Colorado Eastern Plains
towards white settlement prompted the Army to establish the fort as a precautionary measure to protect the trail.
The camp was founded near the existing settlement of Laporte (originally Colona) that had been founded four years earlier in 1858 by Antoine Janis
and other homesteaders
from Fort Laramie. Although the region was not part of the Colorado Gold Rush
that erupted the following year of 1859, the fertile lands of the Colorado Piedmont
along the Poudre attracted a growing number of homesteaders in the early 1860s. The Arapaho continued to live in villages along the Poudre near the mountains, coexisting peacefully with the settlers, despite the loss of their hunting grounds on the eastern plains in 1861 by treaty with the U.S. government.
During its first two years, the fort remained a somewhat peaceful outpost. The fort saw little direct action during its commission and was never stockaded with walls. In the fall of 1862, the 9th Kansas Cavalry was relieved by a detachment of the 1st Colorado Volunteer Cavalry
under Captain David L. Hardy. The following July 1863, Hardy and Company M left the fort to pursue hostile Ute
s in the mountains, leaving the camp in control of Company B of the 1st Colorado under Lt. George W. Hawkins. In April 1864, Company B was ordered to Camp Sanborn to bolster the garrison there, leaving a void that was filled in mid-May 1864 by the arrival of Company F of the 11th Ohio Cavalry
, commanded by William H. Evans.
The most significant event its history occurred within a month after the arrival of the 11th Ohio. The event was not a battle but the flood
ing on the Poudre River, swollen from spring snow melt, in early June 1864. The flood destroyed the camp nearly completely, with many of the soldiers barely escaping with the their lives.
, a local homesteader, came forth with a proposal for a new site adjacent to his own claim four miles downstream on the Poudre, on a section of high ground on the south bank of the river. The site offered protection from flooding, had a prominent viewshed
of the terrain, and was directly on the "Denver Road", the section of the Overland Trail through the county. The site offered the additional benefit of being removed from the saloons
and other temptations in Laporte.
On August 20, 1864, Colonel Collins issued Special Order No. 1 relocating the camp to the site suggested by Mason. The new post, by then known as "Fort Collins", was fully occupied by October 22 and the Laporte site was completely abandoned. The new site saw as little direct action as the original site, but its proximity to the growing community of new homesteaders, as well as its location on the Denver Road, made it increasingly the center of local transportation and commerce.
The site itself is in present-day Old Town in Fort Collins, between Jefferson Avenue (the old Denver Road) and the Poudre River. The actual military reservation encompased an expansive territory stretches several miles south of the Poudre, but the actual campgrounds were confined to a small area in present-day Old Town. The 300 foot square parade ground, standard for forts of its type, was centered at the present intersection of Willow and Linden Streets, approximately one block from the river. The site included the standard configuration of barracks
and mess halls for enlisted men, an officer's quarters, camp headquarters, guard houses, storehouses, and stables. The buildings were of log construction typically for that era and region. A city-authorized sign near the intersection provides a guide to the location of the original camp buildings, none of which survive today.
The first commercial buildings were built on the southwest side of the Denver Road (Jefferson Street), including the two-story inn owned by early settler "Auntie" Elizabeth Stone
. The structure was relocated in the 20th century to the grounds of the Fort Collins Museum
.
The subsiding of the conflict with Native Americans, in particular their complete removal from the Colorado Territory after 1865, increasingly made the fort irrelevant. In September 1866 the post was completely abandoned and was officially decommissioned the following year by order of General William T. Sherman.
to supply water power. The first white child
in Fort Collins, Agnes Mason, was born in the former camp headquarters on October 31, 1867. In 1870 the Colorado Territorial Legislature designated the fledging town as the location for the Agricultural College (present-day Colorado State University
).
The military reservation was officially relinquished on May 15, 1872 by presidential order, officially opening the land to settlement claims. The townsite of Fort Collins was officially plat
ted on the former site of the camp in January 1873. The original plat includes all the "tilted" streets in present-day Old Town north of Mountain Avenue and east of College Avenue. The town grew rapidly as an agricultural
center in the 1870s, and the town plat was rapidly expanded by the founding of the Fort Collins Agricultural Colony
in 1873.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in the Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
. The fort was commissioned in the summer of 1862 to protect the Overland Trail
Overland Trail
The Overland Trail was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail was most heavily used in the 1860s as an alternative route to the Oregon, California and Mormon...
from attacks by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
in a conflict that later became known as the Colorado War
Colorado War
The Colorado War was fought from 1863 to 1865 and was an Indian War between the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, against white settlers and militia in the Colorado Territory and adjacent regions...
. Located along the Cache la Poudre River
Cache La Poudre River
The Cache la Poudre River is in the state of Colorado in the United States.Its headwaters are in the Front Range in Larimer County, in the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park. The river descends eastward in the mountains through the Roosevelt National Forest in Poudre Canyon...
in Larimer County
Larimer County, Colorado
Larimer County is the seventh most populous and the ninth most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county is located at the northern end of the Front Range, at the edge of the Colorado Eastern Plains along the border with Wyoming...
, it was relocated from its initial location near Laporte
Laporte, Colorado
Laporte is a census-designated place in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,691 at the 2000 census...
after a devastating flood. Its second location downstream on the Poudre was used until 1866 and became the nucleus around which the City of Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
was founded.
Laporte location (1862-1864)
The camp was commissioned on July 22, 1862 and later named for Colonel William O. Collins, the commandant of Fort Laramie, the regional headquarters of the U.S. Army. The initial camp at Laporte was constructed and manned by Company B, 9th Kansas Cavalry9th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
The 9th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 9th Kansas Cavalry was organized at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on March 27, 1862 by consolidation of several "independent battalions", squadrons, and detachments...
. The mission of the fort was to protect the emigrant trains and Overland Stage lines on the Overland Trail from the growing hostile attacks of the Plains Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
. The growing hostility of the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
to white encroachment further north had forced the temporary relocation of the Emigrant Trail
Emigrant Trail
The Emigrant Trails were the northern networks of overland wagon trails throughout the American West, used by emigrants from the eastern United States to settle lands west of the Interior Plains during the overland migrations of the mid-19th century...
from the North Platte River
North Platte River
The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long counting its many curves, It travels about distance. Its course lies in the U.S...
to the South Platte
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
valley. Although relations with the Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
and Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
in the vicinity of the camp were largely peaceful, the hostility of the Pawnee and other tribes on the Colorado Eastern Plains
Colorado Eastern Plains
The Eastern Plains of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains and east of the population centers of the Front Range.-Geography:...
towards white settlement prompted the Army to establish the fort as a precautionary measure to protect the trail.
The camp was founded near the existing settlement of Laporte (originally Colona) that had been founded four years earlier in 1858 by Antoine Janis
Antoine Janis
Antoine Janis was a 19th-century French-American fur trader and an early white homesteader in Larimer County, Colorado, in the United States. The first recorded permanent white settler in northern Colorado, he founded the town of Laporte in 1858.-Biography:Janis was born inMissouri to a French...
and other homesteaders
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
from Fort Laramie. Although the region was not part of the Colorado Gold Rush
Colorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...
that erupted the following year of 1859, the fertile lands of the Colorado Piedmont
Colorado Piedmont
The Colorado Piedmont is the geologic term for an area along the base of the foothills of the Front Range in north central Colorado in the United States...
along the Poudre attracted a growing number of homesteaders in the early 1860s. The Arapaho continued to live in villages along the Poudre near the mountains, coexisting peacefully with the settlers, despite the loss of their hunting grounds on the eastern plains in 1861 by treaty with the U.S. government.
During its first two years, the fort remained a somewhat peaceful outpost. The fort saw little direct action during its commission and was never stockaded with walls. In the fall of 1862, the 9th Kansas Cavalry was relieved by a detachment of the 1st Colorado Volunteer Cavalry
1st Colorado Cavalry
The 1st Colorado Cavalry was formed in 1862 by Territorial Governor John Evans, composed mostly of members of the 1st Colorado Infantry and of C and D Companies of the 2nd Colorado Infantry...
under Captain David L. Hardy. The following July 1863, Hardy and Company M left the fort to pursue hostile Ute
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
s in the mountains, leaving the camp in control of Company B of the 1st Colorado under Lt. George W. Hawkins. In April 1864, Company B was ordered to Camp Sanborn to bolster the garrison there, leaving a void that was filled in mid-May 1864 by the arrival of Company F of the 11th Ohio Cavalry
11th Ohio Cavalry
The 11th Ohio Cavalry was a volunteer cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was stationed in the Dakota and Idaho territories to protect travelers and settlers from Native American raids.- Service :...
, commanded by William H. Evans.
The most significant event its history occurred within a month after the arrival of the 11th Ohio. The event was not a battle but the flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing on the Poudre River, swollen from spring snow melt, in early June 1864. The flood destroyed the camp nearly completely, with many of the soldiers barely escaping with the their lives.
Poudre location (1864-1867)
The obvious unsuitable of the site for future use prompted Evans to order Lieutenant Joseph Hannah to begin scouting for an alternative site. Joseph MasonJoseph Mason (settler)
Joseph Mason, known as the "Father of Fort Collins, Colorado", was an early white homesteader in Larimer County, Colorado in the 1860s. Mason settled a large tract of land along the Cache la Poudre River in present-day north Fort Collins, and he played in an instrumental role in persuading the...
, a local homesteader, came forth with a proposal for a new site adjacent to his own claim four miles downstream on the Poudre, on a section of high ground on the south bank of the river. The site offered protection from flooding, had a prominent viewshed
Viewshed
A viewshed is an area of land, water, or other environmental element that is visible to the human eye from a fixed vantage point. The term is used widely in such areas as urban planning, archaeology, and military science...
of the terrain, and was directly on the "Denver Road", the section of the Overland Trail through the county. The site offered the additional benefit of being removed from the saloons
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
and other temptations in Laporte.
On August 20, 1864, Colonel Collins issued Special Order No. 1 relocating the camp to the site suggested by Mason. The new post, by then known as "Fort Collins", was fully occupied by October 22 and the Laporte site was completely abandoned. The new site saw as little direct action as the original site, but its proximity to the growing community of new homesteaders, as well as its location on the Denver Road, made it increasingly the center of local transportation and commerce.
The site itself is in present-day Old Town in Fort Collins, between Jefferson Avenue (the old Denver Road) and the Poudre River. The actual military reservation encompased an expansive territory stretches several miles south of the Poudre, but the actual campgrounds were confined to a small area in present-day Old Town. The 300 foot square parade ground, standard for forts of its type, was centered at the present intersection of Willow and Linden Streets, approximately one block from the river. The site included the standard configuration of barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
and mess halls for enlisted men, an officer's quarters, camp headquarters, guard houses, storehouses, and stables. The buildings were of log construction typically for that era and region. A city-authorized sign near the intersection provides a guide to the location of the original camp buildings, none of which survive today.
The first commercial buildings were built on the southwest side of the Denver Road (Jefferson Street), including the two-story inn owned by early settler "Auntie" Elizabeth Stone
Elizabeth Hickok Robbins Stone
Elizabeth Hickok Robbins Stone was an American pioneer woman who was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1988. Born in Connecticut and raised in New York, Elizabeth Hickok was married and widowed twice and had 8 children from her first marriage to Dr. Ezekiel Robbins...
. The structure was relocated in the 20th century to the grounds of the Fort Collins Museum
Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center
The Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center is a partnership of two educational institutions that merged in 2008 to create a combined science and cultural resource for Fort Collins and northern Colorado.-Fort Collins Museum:...
.
The subsiding of the conflict with Native Americans, in particular their complete removal from the Colorado Territory after 1865, increasingly made the fort irrelevant. In September 1866 the post was completely abandoned and was officially decommissioned the following year by order of General William T. Sherman.
Site of the town of Fort Collins
Almost immediately, local business owners and residents stepped into the vacuum left by the abandonment, claiming the land for commercial purposes, despite a clerical error by the Army that kept the land officially in government hands until 1872. By 1869, Stone and Henry C. Peterson constructed the first flour mill on the south bank of the Poudre, as well as 1.5-mile (2.5 km) mill raceMill race
A mill race, raceway or mill lade is the current or channel of a stream, especially one for conducting water to or from a water wheel or other device for utilizing its energy...
to supply water power. The first white child
First white child
The birth of the first white child was a celebrated occasion across many parts of the New World. Such births are a matter of pride for many townships, and they are commemorated with plaques and monuments at the location of the event. The birth was seen as such an honor that it was at times...
in Fort Collins, Agnes Mason, was born in the former camp headquarters on October 31, 1867. In 1870 the Colorado Territorial Legislature designated the fledging town as the location for the Agricultural College (present-day Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
).
The military reservation was officially relinquished on May 15, 1872 by presidential order, officially opening the land to settlement claims. The townsite of Fort Collins was officially plat
Plat
A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....
ted on the former site of the camp in January 1873. The original plat includes all the "tilted" streets in present-day Old Town north of Mountain Avenue and east of College Avenue. The town grew rapidly as an agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
center in the 1870s, and the town plat was rapidly expanded by the founding of the Fort Collins Agricultural Colony
Fort Collins Agricultural Colony
The Fort Collins Agricultural Colony was a 19th century enterprise in Larimer County, Colorado to promote new agricultural and commercial settlement in and around the town of Fort Collins...
in 1873.