News Flashbacks

City Grew Most in Last 10 Years

Fort Collins Coloradoan, August 16, 1959, page 5-A

Since the town of Fort Collins was first formed under a municipal government 86 years ago-in 1873-its original area of 932 acres has nearly quadrupled to its present size of about 3,575 acres, or slightly more than 5 square miles. It took the city 71 years-until 1944-to double its original area to cover 1,840 acres, but only 15 years to double the 1944 size. Between 1873 and 1944 there were 29 additions to the original town site. Since 1944 there have been 47 additions, all but two of them the result of the building boom that got underway in 1952.

The city's first post-World War 2 annexations were those of the Dunn school area in 1948 and the Mantz First Addition in 1950, bounded by West Mulberry, Washington, Laurel and South Shields Streets. They totaled 12 acres. Two more [Mantz] additions added about 65 acres in 1952. The following year the Northwest Consolidated Annexation, beyond Laporte Avenue and North Shields Street, added another 63 acres. In 1955 there were seven annexations which added 103 acres. Annexation of the Colorado State University campus of 451 acres in 1956 was the largest single addition in the city's history, and the year ended with a total addition of 556 acres through five annexation proceedings.

There were 12 annexations in 1957, the most for any single year, and they added 657 acres to the city area. Last year's eight additions added 135 acres more, and this year has seen nine annexations, with one more expected to be completed this month to add another 152 acres. The first nine additions to the city, which occurred between 1881 and 1909, were accomplished through decrees by the Larimer County Court and added 371 acres. They included the Lake Park Addition of 77 acres, the Loomis Addition of 88, the West Side Addition of 66, and Buckingham Place, lying north of the Poudre River, consisting of 73 acres. After 1909 annexations were made by City Council resolutions and ordinances, based on petitions by the residents involved. There were no annexations between 1910 and 1920, but 12 new areas were added between 1920 and 1925, which included the "oil boom" years which saw the establishment of production in the Fort Collins and Wellington Oil fields. There were no further additions until 1943.