Berthoud, Colorado

Berthoud is a town in Larimer and Weld County, Colorado, United States. Berthoud is situated north of the Little Thompson River, approximately halfway between the cities of Fort Collins, Colorado and Denver, Colorado along the Front Range Urban Corridor. The population of Berthoud was 4,839 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Location of Berthoud, Colorado

Berthoud is located at 40°18′25″N 105°4′30″W (40.306899, -105.075136)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.5 km² (4.1 mi²). 10.3 km² (4.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (2.22%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	228		—
1900	305		33.8%
1910	758		148.5%
1920	852		12.4%
1930	811		−4.8%
1940	811		0.0%
1950	867		6.9%
1960	1,014		17.0%
1970	1,446		42.6%
1980	2,362		63.3%
1990	2,990		26.6%
2000	4,839		61.8%

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 4,839 people, 1,821 households, and 1,331 families residing in the town. The population density was 470.6/km² (1,219.7/mi²). There were 1,883 housing units at an average density of 183.1/km² (474.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.18% White, 0.23% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.86% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.06% of the population.

There were 1,821 households out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,672, and the median income for a family was $58,491. Males had a median income of $43,676 versus $29,861 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,037. About 1.7% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Community

Berthoud is a small town surrounded largely by farmland, nicknamed the "Garden Spot of Colorado." In many parts of town, trees overarch the city streets. There is an annual community parade on "Berthoud Day", which occurs in early June and ends in Berthoud Park, where families gather and enjoy music in a picnic-like atmosphere. Another community event held annually in June is "Berthoud Quilt Day", in which quilters display their works in Fickel Park. Through the summer, the town also plays host to its farmers' market which occurs every Thursday and is sponsored by the town's main street organisation. The town also has several parks, including Berthoud Park (which has an outdoor swimming pool, playground and tennis court), Fickel Park (which also has a tennis court), and Roberts Lake Park.

History

White settlers first came to the present-day Berthoud area in the early 1860s, following the Colorado Gold Rush. Many settlers filed homestead claims, but most bellied up and left the valley to hardier souls who ranched and farmed the arid prairie that straddled the river bottom.

In 1872, a miner-turned-rancher from Central City, Lewis Cross, staked the first homestead claim where the Colorado Central Railroad planned to cross Little Thompson creek. When the tracks were laid through the valley in 1877 a depot, section house, and water tank were installed at this strategic site. The tiny settlement known as Little Thompson was renamed Berthoud in honor of Edward L. Berthoud, who had surveyed the rail route through the valley.

Over the next few years the settlement grew to include a handful of homes, a blacksmith shop, a mercantile store, a small grain elevator, and a log cabin that served as school and church for the community.

In the early 1880's, the Colorado Central Railroad recognized that Berthoud's location on the river bottom caused their steam-powered locomotives to labor excessively to ascend the grade out of the valley. At their urging, during the winter of 1883-84, the buildings of the town were loaded on skids and pulled by teams of draft animals to the town's present-day location on the bluff one mile north of the river.

Agriculture in the Berthoud area flourished. Farmers diverted water from the Little and Big Thompson Rivers into a network of reservoirs and ditches that allowed the arid uplands to be irrigated. Harvests of alfalfa, sugar beets, wheat, corn, and barley were sold on the open market or used to fatten pens of sheep and cattle. The town grew as merchants and shopkeepers set up businesses to serve farmers and ranchers from the nearby countryside.

In 1886, the Welch Addition doubled the size of the Berthoud as town boundaries extended south beyond present-day Mountain Avenue for the first time. A year later a hose company was hastily formed to protect the town from fire after the Davis & Hartford Mercantile store burned to the ground. In 1888 a town board was elected and within a short time they hired a marshal to keep the peace and light the street lamps. By the early 1900s, Berthoud sported a business district on Third Street and Massachusetts and Mountain Avenues.

In the 1920s Mountain Avenue became part of a paved state highway system that connected the larger towns of northern Colorado.

Schools & Education

Students from the area attend the four public schools which are part of the larger Thompson School District: two elementary schools (Berthoud Elementary and Ivy Stockwell), a centrally located middle school (Turner Middle School), and a high school (Berthoud High School). There is also a Head Start preschool and several private preschools such as Little "t" Preschool http://www.littletpreschool.com, and the 5th Street College.

News and Media

The town has two weekly newspapers, The Old Berthoud Recorder and The Berthoud Weekly Surveyor. Daily newspaper coverage is provided by the Loveland Daily Reporter Herald and the Longmont Times Call.

External links

• Official town website
• Chamber of Commerce
• Berthoud Main Street Organization
• Town Fire Department
• The Town's Habitat For Humanity Organization
• The Little Thompson Observatory

News and media links

• The Old Berthoud Recorder
• The Berthoud Weekly Surveyor
• The Loveland Daily Reporter Herald
• The Longmont Times Call