Greeley History

History Greeley was a planned town. When the first settlers along with Nathan Meeker came out to begin what became Greeley, they had a plan for what they wanted the town to become. They wanted an utopia that had educated (people who had gone to school), religious (church-going), non-drinking people. They wanted families to farm using irrigation. They wanted men who held strong family values and worked in cooperation (together as a team) with each other. Greeley was the third community practicing temperance in the US. Irrigation ditches, schools and churches were built early. When the Locating Committee (The people looking for a place to build the town.) returned to Evans, Colorado, they met with Benjamin Eaton. It was Eaton who suggested the area between the Poudre and the Platte Rivers for the town. Greeley was going to be an agriculture community (town) from its beginnings so the rivers were needed for irrigation. The ditches were dug early so that each citizen could grow crops. Education was important to the new settlers so schools were built early. The State Normal School, UNC today, was built in 1890 along with a new high school. Because religion was the cornerstone (important) in their lives, churches were begun. There were so many churches that Greeley was nicknamed "The City of Churches." The people were nicknamed the "Greeley Saints." The mascot at Jackson is a tribute to the early nickname of Greeley citizens. In 1871, a 50 mile long fence was built to keep cattle out of town. The gardens and crops attracted the open-range cattle into town. (The cows came to eat in the gardens.) The residents were angry that the cattle were eating their gardens and crops. They decided to build a fence around the town at the urging of Horace Greeley.(He thought it was a good idea.) The fence was finished in 1873. It created a bigger problem between the farmers and the cattlemen, Other people thought the fence was really built to keep "undesirable" (Unwanted) people out of town. It was mostly torn down by 1900, but people still find parts of the fence today. Farming has always been important to Greeley. Many businesses started in Greeley to support the farmers. Sugar beets became an important crop in the area. In the 1920's Greeley was making 25% (twenty-five percent) of the nation's sugar. The first sugar beet factory was built in 1902 to process the beets into sugar. When the factory was built, there was a need for workers. This brought in more people to live in Greeley. The sugarbeet factory used many Mexican workers so the Spanish Colony was started. The byproducts (left overs) from the sugarbeets were used to feed cattle. Warren Monfort began to develop feedlots to control the feeding of cattle so that the market would be well stocked. The company that would later become Monfort then ConAgra and now Swift was started in 1960. Even the social activities showed the importance of agriculture (farming)in the community. The first Spud Rodeo was held in 1922 in honor of the potato crop. Today it is the Greeley Independence Stampede which is the world's largest 4th of July rodeo. Greeley was also modern. Greeley may have been built on farming, but it also kept up to date with modern inventions. Telephones were in town in 1883 with electric lights downtown by 1886. Automobiles (cars) were competing for road space with horse drawn buggies by 1910. KFKA became one of the first radio stations to broadcast in the USA in 1922. The Greeley Municipal Airport was built in 1928. During World War II, Greeley had two Prisoner Of War (P.O.W.) camps.Greeley housed two POW camps in 1943. One was for German POWs and the other was for Italian POWs. The German POW were used to provide "stoop" labor in the fields. (They pulled weeds and thinned the crops as well as picked them. They had to bend over or stoop to do the work.) Culture (art and music) has always been important to Greeley. The settlers enjoyed art, music, and other shows. Greeley is home to the oldest orchestra west of the Mississippi. The Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra was started in 1912. In 1958, Greeley became the first city to have a Department of Culture. This group oversaw the museum, library, recreation and adult educational programs. The Union Colony Civic Center was built in 1986. This building has theaters, a concert hall, and art galleries. Temperance (no alcohol) ended in Greeley in 1969. As Greeley grew, new people moved into the community that held different values than the original settlers. The end came to temperance by a vote in 1969. The law was changed to allow the sale of alcohol in Greeley. The vote passed by only 477 votes. Hewlett-Packard brought technology jobs to town. While agriculture is still the cornerstone of much of Greeley's economy, technology jobs are becoming more prevalent. In 1980, HP bought the land to build a computer manufacturing plant. Other tech companies have since started opening offices and plants in Greeley. Hewlett-Packard has now left Greeley and the building and land is for sale. Greeley is still growing and changing today. Greeley's population has doubled since 1970. This growth has brought changes to the city. Where farms and fields once were, housing and businesses now stand. Traffic has increased and schools have become crowded. There are many more choices for things to do in town as well as more stores and restaurants. The citizens of Greeley are looking for ways to enjoy the changes, solve the problems that growth brings and to maintain a high quality of life for its citizens.
Pictures Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger picture. Close the picture's window to return to this page.

Pictures of some of the first settlers. Photo Credit	More pictures of some of the first settlers. Photo Credit

This is the Ward 1 School.	This is the old Greeley High School.

This is the First Baptist Church. The Baptist won $500 from the Denver Pacific Railroad for building the first church back in 1871. This is the second building.	Early Greeley residents relied on wells for their water. The fountain in Lincoln Park was the most visible. The current rock fountain in Lincoln Park was built in 1907 to save that well. All residents were asked to bring rocks and shells to be in the well's construction.

Here is the plaque on the fountain.

Our Lady of Peace church built in 1948.	Greeley is changing. We now have farms in the city!
More about Greeley History

See a Timeline that shows the important events in Greeley.	See a copy of the first Greeley Tribune.

Here is another Timeline about the history of Migrant Workers.	Compare Greeley Then to Greeley Now.

Learn about The Spanish Colony.	Dearfield learn about this African-American Agricultural community in Weld County.

Learn about one of Greeley's baseball teams The Greeley Grays.	Learn about Evans

The East Memorial Story Find out how East Memorial Elementary got its name.	Read more about the German-Russians

Learn about the German POW Camp located on Business 34 (10 Street).

Read the Greeley Tribune Story here. Triceratops Story Close the article window to return to this page. Click on the thumbnail of the skull to see a larger picture then close the window to return to this page.
	Triceratops skull found near Greeley.

Site Map for History Page Click to navigate to all the pages linked to this one.

©Sara L. Brooks

Updated April 27, 2008 8:30 PM