Historic names could change

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Residents along Buckhorn Road and Stove Prairie Road are mustering their forces and their arguments to retain the historic names in their addresses rather than switching to County Road 27 and County Road 44H.

Larimer County Commissioners will hear their appeal on Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m., in the Courthouse Offices Building in Fort Collins.

The county's rural addressing system normally would require the use of County Road 27 and 44H, but the commissioners can retain historic names if convinced they are easy to use by citizens, visitors and service providers. The Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, which filed its appeal in April, is one of the chief proponents of retaining the historic names.

The commissioners have previously retained Overland Trail, Bingham Hill Road, Red Mountain Road, Rist Canyon Road and Old Flowers Road for their historic value. The latter two form a junction with Stove Prairie Road at the Stove Prairie Elementary School built in 1896.

Buckhorn Road runs along Buckhorn Creek.

"We have more than sufficient evidence to show that the names Stove Prairie Road and Buckhorn Road have historically been used for the better part of a century and are the preferred names for the majority of residents who live on and use them as well as for numerous government agencies," resident Wes Rutt, a volunteer firefighter, said in a memo to the county. His documentation includes a map originally printed in 1909.

Because the county was ready in September to change to numbered road names without listening to appeals, there could be additional cost for retaining the historic names at this time.