A century of highlights

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Centennial celebrations are a time to reflect on the big picture--booms and busts, triumphs and challenges, everything that sets a community apart from the rest of the world.

Though Wellington developed its own persona over the last hundred years, like many towns in the West its existence was seeded by two entities: railroads and water.

Wellington is located on a section (square mile) first deeded to the Union Pacific Railroad by the U.S. government on April 18, 1883, and then deeded to the North Poudre Land Canal & Reservoir Co. on Jan. 19, 1884.

The founding of Wellington dates to 1903 when North Poudre Irrigation Co. decided to plat a town in the Boxelder Valley at the northern terminus of the Colorado and Southern Railroad. At that time "there was but one house and one place of business, both in one, in the town, and a trail in through the weeds to it," an early newspaper, the Larimer County Democrat, wrote.

In two years, Wellington citizens built 68 residences and 45 business places. (A restrictive clause in the deeds to all property prohibited saloons.) The new town's residents voted to incorporate on Oct. 24, 1905. They were unanimous, 86-0, and a court order filed on Nov. 2, 1905, made the decision official.

The town's namesake was Charles L. Wellington of Denver, the traffic manager of the Colorado and Southern Railroad. Without the railroad to transport beets, other crops and livestock, there was no need for a town. The Democrat noted "every piece of land in the vicinity of Wellington is under cultivation." Farmers shipped their beets to the Great Western Sugar Co. in Fort Collins for processing.

The First Decade

A plat for Wellington was filed on July 15, 1903, with 40 acres designated as the town site. The Postmaster General established the Wellington Post Office on Aug. 25, 1903. Citizens built their first public school house, with two rooms, the same year. One of the town's still-standing buildings, the Hotel Wellington, went up about 1903.

By 1905 residents had to enlarge the school to four rooms to accommodate nearly 200 pupils. Charles Q. Wilson, superintendent of all of North Poudre Irrigation Co.'s interests, was elected as the town's first mayor.

The men of Wellington organized a fire department on March 29,1905. It was strictly a fire brigade with 24 regulation firefighting buckets. The fire department officially formed on Nov. 8, 1905, with 26 members.

The Congregational Church building was completed in March 1905. It eventually became the home of the Wellington Federated Church.

The town's first newspaper, a weekly bulletin called "The Wellington," published its first issue of four pages on July 1, 1905. An annual subscription cost $1. It reported on the town's boom, with some 50 carpenters, stone masons and helpers at work on residences and store buildings. Good drinking water was hard to get. Eight bars of good soap sold for 25 cents.

In the summer of 1905, work began to extend the railroad north of town and also to Fairview (later named Waverly).

In August, contractor M.G. Conley completed the First National Bank building (now the North Poudre Irrigation Co. office). The bank was chartered on June 20, 1905.

In October, Fairview, 6 miles west of Wellington, was renamed Waverly to eliminate confusion with Fairview, Calif.

F.C. Grable, one of the town's developers, donated eight acres for a cemetery on a hill northeast of Wellington in 1906.

Once incorporated, townspeople went to work for their community. They built their first town hall in 1906. The town's population was 350; curfew was at 8 p.m. Over 50 German and American families were brought to town from Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., to work in the beet fields. Many others of the town's first residents came from North Carolina.

In March 1907, schools and all public places were closed because of smallpox. Also that year, the town druggist was found guilty of selling liquor illegally and fined $400.

Room rates at the Hotel Wellington were $1.50 per day with special rates by the week.

In August 1907, the Dixon beet dump was completed 3 miles north of Wellington. Sugar beets could be loaded into railroad cars at 3-mile intervals between Wellington and Fort Collins. Schools were dismissed during beet harvest.

Bicycle riding on sidewalks was forbidden in 1907. Several cases of typhoid were reported.

The newspaper changed its name to The Wellington Sun in 1909.

Brick masons began work on a new town hall (construction cost $2,900) in August 1909. The town fire and curfew bell was placed in a tower on the new town hall.

1910s - Census 459

In May 1910, the C&S Railroad announced that a line would be built from Wellington to Cheyenne. Passenger service started up in October 1911; freight service began in November.

The town marshal was paid $70 a month. He also served as street commissioner, water commissioner and sexton of the cemetery. In 1912, rural route mail carriers earned $100 a month. A railroad yard worker earned $1.75 for a 10-hour day and paid $4.50 a week for room and board. Beet workers earned $2 to $2.50 a day.

Agriculture was the mainstay of the community, which was surrounded by 35,000 acres of irrigated land. Sheep production was another agricultural mainstay.

A street committee purchased three kerosene streetlights to be placed along the main street at First, Second and Third streets in 1913. A town ordinance limited the speed of autos and motorbikes to 12 mph. The Wellington Schools added 12th grade.

The town's first picture show house opened in 1914 at Cleveland and Second Street. Admission was 10 cents for adults and 5 cents for children. Two hundred attended the first show.

By 1915, the Baptist, Congregational and Methodist pastors has left town, leaving three empty church buildings. The town's religious leaders discussed the idea of federation, and on Sept. 17, 1915, six Christian denominations organized the Federated Church (now named Wellington Community Church). The Lutherans bought the Baptist church building.

Gasoline sold for 15 cents a gallon in 1915 and jumped to 27 cents a gallon the next year.

The Western Light and Power Co. provided the first electricity in 1916. A new house rented for $5 a month, but the owner was willing to sell it for $450.

In 1916-1917, the town built a new school for all 12 grades. It took at least three elections for voters to approve a $28,000 bond issue. The railroad built a modern depot in 1916 (demolished in 1959).

Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Many of Wellington's young men were drafted. Wages increased as laborers were hard to get.

For a brief time in 1918, pastors of Wellington's two German churches, Lutheran and Congregational, were told to preach in English only. An American flag was to be displayed at each pulpit. The town soon rescinded the ordinance for sermons but said English only should otherwise be spoken in the town limits.

First National Bank moved to a new building at 3728 Cleveland Ave. (now the Chocolate Rose) in October 1919. Investors organized a second bank, Wellington State Bank, earlier that year and then moved their operations to First National's old building. The town's banks united in 1921. Following the crash of 1929, the bank collected what it could on bad debts and closed in 1933.

The Wellington Sun regularly reported on the arrest of moonshiners and whisky runners in the last years of the decade and early 1920s.

1920s - Census 439

Wellington had hopes of getting its own sugar factory, but never succeeded.

In 1922, the town built a free auto campground that year. The Wich Garage had a radio receiving station and became a popular gathering place. Wellington had five grocery stores.

Boxelder Creek flooded three times in 1923. From July through September, 314 autos from 28 states used the free campground.

On Nov. 11, 1923, drillers struck natural gas at an oil well northwest of Wellington. Experts thought the oil field could be a "whopper." People from all over the state and nearby states came to see it. Both gas and oil gushed from the well. A brownish hue covered the countryside.

The Mitchell oil well, 6 miles northwest of Wellington, caught fire on July 23, 1924, due to static electricity. The gusher was capped a month later.

The town erected 30 new buildings and Wellington had a housing shortage in 1924. Depot operators had to live in railroad cars.

Hotel Wellington served a turkey dinner for 75 cents in December 1925.

Wellington built a new high school in 1926. From 1926 to 1964, the school graduated 513 students.

Wellington's men performed a burlesque comedy called the "Follies" in June 1927, drawing a crowd of 400 people to two performances. They played the roles of chorus girls, ballet dancers and flappers.

Throughout the first two decades, the Wellington newspaper reported every car purchase, trade or sale, along with frequent mention of drivers breaking their wrists while cranking their cars.

1930s - Census 533

Colorado's population topped 1 million.

The old Methodist Church, built about 1905, was dismantled in 1930.

Wellington residents were planting cherry orchards. All streets that cross Cleveland Avenue were fitted with stop signs, making Cleveland a through street. Two thousand attended the Wellington Fair.

County road workers were cut to half time in October 1931 to cut expenses. Wellington stores switched to cash basis, no more credit.

Ideal Grocery Co. sold out to Hankins Mercantile in 1932; the town now had but two grocery establishments. The local orchestra was named the Wellington Band-its.

In January 1933, directors of First National Bank of Wellington voted to close, citing depressed conditions and drought.

In July 1933, the heaviest flood in 29 years came down Boxelder Creek. Residents estimated that the floodwaters would have irrigated all the lands under the North Poudre systems for an entire season.

A first-year teacher in 1934 earned $70 a month. First National Bank in Fort Collins reopened in 1934.

America's first diesel streamline locomotive, the Burlington Zephyr, went through Wellington in June 1934. Three hundred people turned out at the depot to see it.

In October 1934, Wellington issued its first beer license in more than 30 years for 3.2 beer.

Beet vacations from school ended in 1935 when child labor laws prohibited children under 14 from working in beet fields. Construction started on the Buckeye Civilian Conservation Corps Camp. Funds from the Works Progress Administration were used to help build and pave the road from Fort Collins to Cheyenne.

Four passenger trains and four buses went through Wellington daily in 1937.

In October 1935, Wellington voted "wet" for liquor in town. The vote was 108-62.

1940s - Census 465

In March 1940, the Waverly girls won the state championship in basketball. Wellington girls won the consolation title.

Dial telephone service went into full operation in April 1940. Wellington was one of the first towns, if not the first, in Colorado to go to the new dial system.

World War II gas rationing started on Nov. 22, 1942.

The publisher of The Wellington Sun, John E. Pope, retired in November 1945 after 36 continuous years as a country editor. New owners changed the paper's name to the Larimer County Sun. It continued to operate until Jan. 16, 1948, when its owners turned it into a new paper called the Long View.

In September 1946, the county superintendent of schools asked that Wellington and Fort Collins schools remain closed until there was a sharp decline in the number of polio cases reported.

1950s - Census 541

Wellington bought its first two school buses in August 1952.

On Thanksgiving Day 1952, the Wellington High School Eagles won the state six-man football championship, playing in Wellington against Buena Vista with temperatures below freezing. Bob Eyestone coached the team.

The Eagles also won the state basketball championship in March 1953. Members were Bob Havens, Don Seder, Bill Seder, Bruce Robison, John Whitman, Jack Baker, Jim Sinnard, Darrel Pierson, Edgar Rice, Larry Farmer and Mark Armijo. They were coached by Bob Eyestone and Grover Cannon. (Team photo on cover.) Ed Rice became principal of Wellington Junior High from 1977 to 1986.

1960s - Census 532

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy appointed Wellington High School graduate Byron White to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Wellington became part of the consolidated Poudre R-1 School District and its high school became a junior high in 1964. (The building was demolished July 8, 1993.)

The Merry Mixers Extension Homemakers Club began offering library services to town residents on March 31, 1964. Books were borrowed from the county library, which also provided funds for new books.

Community volunteers published the first issue (one page) of Wellington Hi-Lites in 1966. The all-volunteer monthly newspaper, produced by typewriter and mimeograph machine, continued into the early 1980s.

Empire Magazine, published by the Denver Post, on March 17, 1968, headlined an article "Wellington, town that wouldn't die." It outlined the efforts of the town's prime mover, Wilson Leeper, to win federal grants and loans to improve Wellington's housing stock, sewer system and roads.

The community held its first Well-O-Rama on May 25, 1968, using the slogan "The community that works and plays together, grows together." The festivities celebrated the paving of state Highway 1 (Cleveland Avenue) through town and the installation of new sidewalks in the downtown area. The project also entailed a new interchange where Highway 1 meets Interstate 25. A highway engineer said, "No other town north of Denver is so ideally situated to serve traffic on the interstate."

In 1968, "delicious hamburgers" cost 30 cents at the Y-Knot Café, 3803 Cleveland Ave. (now the T-Bar Inn).

On Feb. 16, 1969, the Wellington Housing Authority held an open house for its new rent-subsidized apartments. An estimated 2,000 people turned out.

A private airport for soaring opened on the Owl Canyon Road north of Wellington on July 17, 1969.

The community used grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to build the Wilson Leeper Center at 3800 Wilson Ave. in the late 1960s. The building is now home to the senior center and library.

1970s - Census 691

The town issued 44 building permits for a construction value of $541,476 in 1971.

The town issued 109 building permits for a construction value of $1,472,565 in 1972.

A water tap in 1972 cost $200. A sewer tap cost $50.

Mercy Chapel in Fort Collins purchased the Jess Soloman farm 1 mile north of Wellington in 1973 to support missionary training activities and to teach a disciplined life.

Poudre R-1 built Eyestone Elementary School in 1973 and named it for Robert Eyestone, a coach, teacher, principal and superintendent. Eyestone was appointed town mayor in April 1973.

On April 9, 1973, town trustees froze issuance of all water and sewer taps for an indefinite period in the face of growth and tight federal reins on water pollution. This meant a moratorium on development. The town had seen 40 percent growth in population the previous two years, surpassing the 1,000 mark.

Three armed men robbed the Wellington Post Office on Oct. 14, 1978. Police apprehended the suspects in Denver the same day.

The town board appointed a library board of trustees in April 1979. The library operated with volunteers, fund-raisers and donations.

1980s - Census 1,215

The library moved to the Wilson Leeper Community Center in 1980.

Sugar beet production began to decline in the early 1980s.

Zion Lutheran Church completed an addition to its building in September 1983. It had purchased the Baptist church building at 8322 Second St. in 1917.

The Wellington News (formerly Wellington Hi-Lites) went weekly on Sept. 29, 1983, after being purchased by the publisher of the Windsor Beacon and North Weld Herald.

The first Wellington Alumni Association dinner was held Aug. 3, 1984. Andy Mair, Class of 1931, served as master of ceremonies. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White was the only one present from his class of six to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

That month, Heiden's Feed and Grain sold at auction after 30 years of business.

The town board created the Wellington Economic Development Commission in 1987 to attract new business and more tourism.

Virgo Industries purchased Wellington Ag Supply in March 1987 for the production of fertilizer.

In July 1987, the town board discussed the idea of building a regional recreation center with swimming pool, gym, tennis courts and weight room.

The Community Action Commission held its first Hometown Holiday Celebration on July 4, 1987.

In September 1987, Mountain Bell announced it would spend $10 million in northern Colorado to provide one-party service options to customers.

The town board named Jeannette Thimmig, former town trustee, as the official town historian in January 1988.

In 1988 Wellington residents began complaining loudly about their property tax bills, which saw a huge increase after the town board decided to pay off debt on the water treatment plant with a mill levy. The total town mill levy was 46.6 that year, up from 28.8 mills two years previous.

The weekly newspaper ceased operations in January 1988. Seeing a need to keep the community informed, another band of volunteers started a monthly newsletter, Northern Newsline, in August 1988.

Wellington held its first Family Fun Fest in August 1988.

Front Range Steel Inc. started operations at 3620 E. County Road 62 in October 1988. It designs and fabricates structural steel.

Eyestone Elementary School underwent a complete remodeling in 1988 and 1989.

The Denver Rescue Mission took over Mercy Farm at County Roads 7 and 66 in 1989 and started Harvest Farm.

1990s - Census 1,340

In the fall of 1990, Poudre R-1 School District asked voters to approve a $107 million bond issue to fund building projects. Wellington Junior High was to get $2.8 million for remodeling. In early 1991, the school district decided to build a new junior high.

In April 1991, Deputy Earl Fawcett received the Judge Conrad L. Ball award for his contributions to the cause of justice.

The volunteer-run Northern Newsline published its last issue in May 1991.

The town's tax levy hit an all-time high - 56.6 mills.

In April 1993, the first issue of the North Forty News was mailed to all Wellington and Waverly area residents. It was published from a home office on County Road 68 west of Wellington.

On July 6, 1993, the former Wellington High School, built in 1926, was razed to make way for the final phase of the new junior high building, which included cafeteria and music room.

The Wellington Town Board doubled the price of water taps for new construction, setting the new fee at $2,400.

In 1994, the Wellington Post Office added 456 boxes. A new development, Wellington West, nearly doubled the size of the town.

In 1995, the Wellington Economic Development Association incorporated as a nonprofit organization to help new and prospective businesses take advantage of Colorado Enterprise Zone tax benefits. Wellington's youth program became an extension of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County.

The Bee family farm near Wellington at 4320 E. County Road 58 was named a Colorado Centennial Farm.

On Feb. 5, 1996, a full-time town administrator, Kevin Burke, started work in Wellington. One of his first jobs was to complete a new comprehensive plan for the town.

Independent Bank in Kersey opened a branch bank in Wellington in a modular building near the interstate on Aug. 12, 1996. The town had been without a local bank for several decades. The bank later became part of Vectra Bank Colorado and then was purchased by First National Bank of Fort Collins.

Also in 1996, the town board approved a controversial sign ordinance allowing signs as tall as 60 feet in a designated highway service district. Wellington Heritage Writers wrote and edited a local history book titled "History of Wellington, Colorado and the Boxelder Valley: 1864-1996."

In 1999, Wellington area residents endured months of telephone problems while US West installed new fiber-optic cable between switching offices to ease congestion on phone lines. One Buckeye resident complained that it took 35 tries to get through to a number.

Census 2000 - 2,672

Estimated 2005 - 4,500

In 2000, US West had to extend fiber-optic cable from Wellington to Waverly in another effort to ease phone congestion.

Wellington welcomed a new town administrator, Larry Lorentzen, on Oct. 2. When he started work, the town had applications to annex almost 2,000 acres with room for more than 4,000 homes.

In July, Wellington started construction of a new wastewater treatment plant that would be large enough to serve 6,000 people - twice the town's current population. The cost was $6.5 million.

Also in 2002, First National Bank, Wellington, opened. It has no connection with the First National Bank in Fort Collins, which also has a branch in Wellington.

Located 3 miles north of Wellington, the Ralph and Mary Bender farm was designated as a Colorado Centennial Farm.

Wellington installed its first traffic light at Sixth and Cleveland in February 2005.

Wellington continues to grow. Each new house has to pay a $5,800 raw water fee, $5,200 for a sewer tap and $3,200 for a water tap.

Wellington celebrates its centennial on Sept. 16 through 18, 2005.