%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Fort Morgan http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-morgan <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Fort Morgan</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-06-09T10:26:49-06:00" title="Tuesday, June 9, 2020 - 10:26" class="datetime">Tue, 06/09/2020 - 10:26</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-morgan" data-a2a-title="Fort Morgan"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Ffort-morgan&amp;title=Fort%20Morgan"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Fort Morgan is a city of about 12,000 people along the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte River</strong></a>, about seventy miles northeast of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>. It is part of the high <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>plains</strong></a> region that an early explorer, Major <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/stephen-h-long"><strong>Stephen Long</strong></a>, called the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/%E2%80%9Cgreat-american-desert%E2%80%9D"><strong>“Great American Desert.”</strong></a> As the center of a robust agricultural area, Fort Morgan was chosen as the county seat of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/morgan-county"><strong>Morgan County</strong></a> in 1889 because of its connection to the railroad and relatively large population. Today it is a regional destination for professional services, shopping, and a variety of social and cultural events.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Stage Stop and Fort</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>discovery of gold</strong></a> in the <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a> in 1858, stagecoach lines became more important within Colorado. The location of modern Fort Morgan was considered a traveler’s junction because it was where the <strong>South Platte River Road</strong> split. One route led southwest toward Denver, and the other led west into the mountains. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Overland Stage Company’s stop was near the future site of Fort Morgan. By 1859 the station, known as Bijou Station, hosted tens of thousands of travelers as they passed through this area. The Fort Morgan military post began as a camp near the stage stop in 1864. It was tasked with protecting mail routes and wagon trains from American Indians, especially the <strong>Cheyenne</strong> and <strong>Arapaho</strong>, who had occupied northeast Colorado since the early nineteenth century. Originally known as Camp Tyler, then Camp Wardwell, the fort was later named for Colonel Christopher Morgan of the armycavalry. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Morgan died in a Civil War battle in Missouri in 1866, without ever traveling to the area named after him.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Violence between Indians and whites in Colorado reached a fever pitch after US troops slaughtered hundreds of peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho women, children, and elders at <a href="/article/sand-creek-massacre"><strong>Sand Creek</strong></a> in November 1864. The next year, hundreds of Confederate prisoners were moved to the military camp at present-day Fort Morgan, and they built many of the structures that became the fort. But just a few years later, most of the Cheyenne and Arapaho had been forced out of Colorado via the<strong> <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/medicine-lodge-treaties">Medicine Lodge Treaty</a></strong>. Its purpose fulfilled, Fort Morgan was decommissioned in 1868. It was located near what is now the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/interstate-76"><strong>Interstate 76</strong></a> exit on Main Street, but today nothing remains of the structure.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1882 the <strong>Union Pacific</strong> and the Burlington &amp; Missouri railroads ran north and south of Fort Morgan, but there was no stop in town until at least two years later. By 1884 and with a great deal of negotiation by Abner Baker, tracks were laid and the stop in Fort Morgan built by the Burlington &amp; Missouri railroad. Known as the Ensign stop, it encouraged travelers to stay in a city beginning to bustle with development.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Settlement</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the <a href="/article/homestead"><strong>Homestead Act</strong></a> of 1862, ranchers joined the travelers and soldiers near present-day Fort Morgan, but there was still no formal town. In 1884 Wisconsin native Abner S. Baker, who had initially moved to <strong>Union Colony</strong> (present-day <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/greeley"><strong>Greeley</strong></a>) in the 1870s, established the town of Fort Morgan. In Baker’s original town plot, Fort Morgan was bound by Lake Street on the east, Railroad Avenue on the south, Deul Street on the west, and Platte Avenue on the north.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Fort Morgan’s early years were difficult, as raising the first crops in a dry climate proved harder than many thought. As it was in Baker’s former town of Greeley, irrigation was essential for the new town’s growth. The Bijou Irrigation Land Company, founded by Abner Baker in November 1884, was contracted to build the necessary ditches and reservoirs. Local ranchers have been raising cattle since before Fort Morgan was founded and benefited greatly from the new irrigation practices.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Agricultural production also followed, and within a few short years, downtown Fort Morgan would boast a twenty-room hotel, general store, carpenter’s shop, blacksmith, and candy store. Downtown was composed of mostly one-story brick buildings. There were wooden sidewalks along Main Street, where businesses like Louis Kinkel’s butcher shop and Mrs. Christie’s Millinery advertised their wares.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to founder Abner Baker, one of Fort Morgan’s prominent early citizens was George Warner. Warner was known as a promoter and developer of Fort Morgan. He worked for several canal and ditch companies, and in 1895 published a pamphlet, “An Oasis in the Desert,” which emphasized the area’s agricultural opportunity and encouraged people to move there. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>In September 1884, Lyman Baker, Abner’s brother, founded the town’s first newspaper, the <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, which still serves the community today. The first issues of the <em>Times</em> were printed in a small shed on Lyman Baker’s property. The publication later moved to Main Street.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Schools were also a priority in early Fort Morgan. The Abner S. Baker school was built in 1895 (although it wasn’t named for Baker until later). This particular school building is still in use today. Kate Baker Clatworthy, wife of downtown shopkeeper and postmaster W. H. Clatworthy, distinguished herself as the first president of the school board. She was also a member of many local organizations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution and the <strong>Women’s Christian Temperance Union</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>W. H. Clatworthy’s hardware store supplied newcomers with everything they needed to start their farms and ranches. Clatworthy would later serve as the mayor of Fort Morgan in the 1890s.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Similar in stature to the Clatworthys were J. P. Curry, owner of the first hotel in town, and Louis and Anna Kinkel, who owned Kinkel’s butcher shop. Local women found loving maternity care in the first maternity home, located in Ivo Dyar’s home on Sherman Street. Dyar’s efforts would later lead to the opening of Fort Morgan’s first hospital in one of the Great Western Sugar factory dormitories in 1923. </p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Sugar Beet Industry</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1906 the Great Western Sugar Company built a large factory on the north side of Fort Morgan, one of several factories built in rural <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> towns that would serve as hubs for surrounding sugar beet farmers. Built by the Riter-Conley Manufacturing Company, this million-dollar facility opened on December 26, 1906. In mid-January 1907, Great Western held a large celebration called Sugar Day. The event offered tours of the factory, candy pulling, carnival booths, and free lunch for attendees.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The factory became the economic engine for the region, and local farmers were encouraged by Main Street businessmen to grow sugar beets. It is estimated that growers were paid a total of $1 million for their first crop in 1906. Within two years of the factory’s opening, the population of Fort Morgan increased by 2,500, and the value of farmland skyrocketed. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>The company shuttled approximately 865 <strong>German Russian </strong>immigrants from Nebraska for the harvest season. The families often worked together in the fields. At first, they lived in modest housing provided by the factory, but eventually many families bought their own farms. They also founded churches and social clubs that emphasized their conservative values and strong work ethic. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>As German Russians transitioned to farm ownership, Great Western began employing Mexican immigrants in its factory, and beet farmers recruited them to work in the fields. Great Western offered low-interest loans to Mexican immigrants to purchase land and farm beets. These immigrants established a Latino community near the factory that flourished until the Great Depression. As of 2016, 40 percent of Fort Morgan residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and many can trace their roots to the early push from Great Western Sugar to employ Mexican workers.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Twentieth Century</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Between 1900 and 1920, taxes from the booming sugar beet industry helped Fort Morgan build a city park, waterworks, electric plant, and sewer system. The city also added a city hall, a courthouse, and the Carnegie Library. In 1910 the city erected a new building for the post office, which had operated out of the backroom of the Clatworthy general store.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During the Great Depression, jobs became scarce around Fort Morgan and farmers struggled because of poor harvests from <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/dust-bowl"><strong>Dust Bowl</strong></a> conditions. Great Western Sugar continued production, but the demographic of who farmed for them changed as a decreased demand for foreign workers meant many of the Mexican families were deported back to Mexico. Morgan County commissioners slashed their salaries in an effort to lower costs and retain employees.<br />&#13; One of the most notable residents of Fort Morgan in the 1930s was big band leader and famed composer <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/alton-%E2%80%9Cglenn%E2%80%9D-miller"><strong>Glenn Miller</strong></a>. Born in Iowa in 1904, Miller and his family settled in Fort Morgan in 1918. Miller rose to fame as a band leader in the late 1930s and was one of the most popular recording artists at the time.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During <strong>World War II</strong>, a Civilian Pilot Training Program opened a school in Fort Morgan. As many as 200 cadets arrived to train by May 1942. The school offered a preglider training program near the current high school and the current site of the Fort Morgan Airport. However, after several fatal crashes, the Fort Morgan program closed in 1943.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Postwar Growth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Postwar Fort Morgan was a community seeking progressive growth and increased services for residents. On February 5, 1952, years of fundraising and organizational efforts came to fruition when the Fort Morgan Community Hospital opened. Within the first two years, the facility served approximately 1,500 patients, including the delivery of 421 babies. Another progressive effort began in 1964 and bore fruit in 1969, when the state approved an operating budget and appointed the first president of Morgan Community College. That same year, the Fort Morgan Heritage Foundation raised money for a new library and museum complex in City Park.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Food-Processing Industries</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After World War II, the instability of the Great Western Sugar Factory spurred local interest in raising cattle. By 1966, Fort Morgan had attracted a beef-processing plant called Fort Morgan Dressed Beef. This plant encountered many problems and closed. Three years later, the facility reopened under the new name of American Beef Packers, but by 1975 this company was bankrupt, too. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1976 a consortium of local feeders known as Morgan Colorado Beef bought the facility and reopened it. Under their leadership, the company expanded, hired more employees, and increased production and sales. In the late 1980s, Excel, a subsidiary of Cargill, obtained the facility and decided to expand it.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the early 1990s, Leprino Foods also announced plans to build and then expand a facility in Fort Morgan to make cheese and whey products. Leprino Foods is one of the largest suppliers of cheese globally. The <em>Fort Morgan Times</em> estimated that the facility would produce as much as 15 million pounds of string cheese a year. The facility employed 85 people and was completed in 1994.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The cityscape of Fort Morgan has changed over the years. Many of the brick storefronts have been covered by more modern building materials, but some historic structures remain. Fort Morgan also currently has four houses—including the former home of George Warner and J. P. Curry—and two other structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, Fort Morgan prides itself on its agricultural roots and diverse populace. Sugar beets are still cultivated and processed at the only operating sugar factory in Colorado.  Cargill is one of the largest employers in Morgan County; it was the largest employer of first Mexican and Central American workers and currently Somali and other East African immigrants. Leprino foods employs approximately 350 workers and continues to produce quality mozzarella and string cheese among other products.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The city’s footprint has expanded, and new development, including more retail space and a new city complex, is a priority for the town.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/campbell-alyse" hreflang="und">Campbell, Alyse</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-morgan" hreflang="en">Fort Morgan</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-morgan-history" hreflang="en">fort morgan history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-morgan-colorado" hreflang="en">fort morgan colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/morgan-county" hreflang="en">Morgan County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-western-sugar" hreflang="en">great western sugar</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/sugar-beets" hreflang="en">sugar beets</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/sugar-beet-industry" hreflang="en">sugar beet industry</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/sugar-beet-factory" hreflang="en">sugar beet factory</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/latinx" hreflang="en">latinx</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/german-russians" hreflang="en">German Russians</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rural-colorado" hreflang="en">rural colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/south-platte-river" hreflang="en">south platte river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-platte-river-road" hreflang="en">great platte river road</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Peggy Anderson, “Ivo Dyar: Legendary Local Figure in Local Health Care,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, September 4, 1984.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Andrew D. Beadle, “Leprino Expands Plans for Plant, Ground Broken,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, July 2, 1992.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Leslie Bernard, “Mail Must Go Through; It Has in Fort Morgan for 100 Years,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, September 4, 1984.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>City of Fort Morgan Comprehensive Plan Update, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Commissioners Slash Salaries: Board Makes Saving in County of Over $8,000 Following a 10 day Meeting, Officers Assist,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, January 26, 1933.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>J. M. Dille, <em>Irrigation in Morgan County</em> (Fort Morgan, CO: Farmers State Bank, 1960).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>on English, <em>The Early History of Fort Morgan, Colorado</em> (Fort Morgan, CO: Fort Morgan Heritage Foundation, 1975).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Fort Morgan Hospital: Dream Sustained by People It Serves,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, September 4, 1984.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Fort Morgan Men Use Different Trade System: Bank Holiday Starts Methods to Meet Emergency,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, March 6, 1933.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Fort Morgan WWII Glider Training School 1942–1943,” Fort Morgan Museum.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“H. Foundation’s Phone Drive Saturday,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, September 14, 1972.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.cityoffortmorgan.com/DocumentCenter/View/5790/Historic-Houses-web-file">Historic Houses of Fort Morgan, Colorado</a>,” Fort Morgan Museum, 2018. Beverly Haley, “MCC Born After Long, Hard-Fought Battle,” September 4, 1894.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Candy Hamilton, <em>Footprints in the Sugar: A History of the Great Western Sugar Company</em> (Hamilton Bates Publishers, 2009).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Barb Keenan, “From Beets to Beef,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, September 3, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Letter From Captain Keller Is Answer to Many Questions,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, December 16, 1941.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Brian C. Mack, <em>The One Room Schoolhouse: Morgan County, Colorado</em> (Fort Morgan, CO: Fort Morgan Heritage Foundation, 2016).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>One Morgan County, “Morgan County: Colorado, U.S.A. A Land of Immigrants, Cultivating a Thriving Community,” 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jo Ostwald, “German Russian Immigrants in Morgan County,” One Morgan County, <em>Morgan County: Colorado, U.S.A. A Land of Immigrants, Cultivating a Thriving Community</em>, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jennifer Patten, <em>In View of the Mountains: A History of Fort Morgan, Colorado </em>(Fort Morgan, CO: Aged Page, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Wesley Kellogg Rickel, ed., <em>111 Trees </em>(Fort Morgan, CO: Fort Morgan Heritage Foundation, 1976).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.cityoffortmorgan.com/DocumentCenter/View/5668/Fort-Morgan-Cemetery-Walking-Tour-">Riverside Cemetery</a><em>,</em>” Fort Morgan Museum, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>George T. Simon, <em>Glenn Miller and His Orchestra</em> (New York: Da Capo Publishing, 1974).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bill Spencer, “‘Very Tight Approach’ Taken to City Budget,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, December 2, 1985.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sue Spencer, “Fort, City Named After Colonel Who Never Got This Far West,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, September 4, 1984.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ruth Tryon, PhD, “Hispanic Mid 1800s to Present,” One Morgan County, <em>Morgan County: Colorado, U.S.A. A Land of Immigrants, Cultivating a Thriving Community</em>, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elliott West, <em>The Contested Plains Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado </em>(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Jolie Anderson Gallagher, <em>A Wild West History of Frontier Colorado, Pioneers, Gunslingers and Cattle Kings of the Eastern Plains</em> (Charleston, SC: History Press, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jenny Grubbs, “<a href="https://www.fortmorgantimes.com/2013/11/08/wwii-era-glider-plane-to-become-part-of-east-gallery-display-2/">WWII-Era Glider Plane to Become Part of East Gallery Display</a>,” <em>Fort Morgan Times</em>, November 8, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Brian Mack and Linda Midcap, <em>Images of America: Morgan County</em> (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press, 2016).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 09 Jun 2020 16:26:49 +0000 yongli 3264 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Fort Morgan State Armory http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-morgan-state-armory <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Fort Morgan State Armory</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-05-19T11:03:33-06:00" title="Friday, May 19, 2017 - 11:03" class="datetime">Fri, 05/19/2017 - 11:03</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-morgan-state-armory" data-a2a-title="Fort Morgan State Armory"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Ffort-morgan-state-armory&amp;title=Fort%20Morgan%20State%20Armory"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Built in 1922, the Fort Morgan State Armory is located at 528 State Street in <strong>Fort Morgan</strong> in northeast Colorado (528 State St, 80701 Fort Morgan, United States). It served as headquarters of Company M, Seventeenth Infantry of the Colorado National Guard until 1996, when the guard moved to Denver and donated the armory to the city. Since its inception, the Fort Morgan State Armory served as a training facility for guardsmen as wells as a recreational facility, a POW dining hall, and a public events center. Today the rehabilitated armory operates as the Fort Morgan Recreation Center.</p> <h2>Fort Morgan and the National Guard</h2> <p>Located some eighty miles northeast of <a href="/article/denver">Denver</a>, the city of Fort Morgan was founded in 1884 along the <a href="/article/south-platte-river">South Platte River</a> near the site of an old military post by the same name. Its development was spurred by the <strong>Union Pacific</strong> and <strong>Chicago, Burlington &amp; Quincy</strong> railroads, both of which built lines through the area in 1882. In the early twentieth century, Fort Morgan became a hub for the booming <a href="/article/sugar-beet-industry">sugar beet industry</a>. A beet processing factory opened in the city in 1906, and by 1920 farmers in <a href="/article/morgan-county">Morgan County</a> were harvesting thousands of acres of sugar beets.</p> <p>In 1920, as Fort Morgan boomed, Congress passed the National Defense Act, which reorganized the army into three branches: Regular Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve. The National Guard in each state would be made up of enlisted men proportionate to the state’s population, with the federal government paying for supplies and training. As long as a municipality had community support, it could petition its state government for a National Guard unit.</p> <p>In 1921 two local army officers, Maj. Rufus Johnson and Capt. Nelson Wells, proposed organizing a National Guard unit in Fort Morgan. The Fort Morgan Commercial Club approved the proposal on March 31, and a committee was formed to determine how many men could be enlisted. The state approved the city’s request in April, and by August a site was selected for the future home of Company M, Seventeenth Infantry of the Colorado National Guard.</p> <h2>Armory Building</h2> <p>In his plans for the armory, Johnson was adamant that the building not only serve recruitment and training needs but also function as a recreation center for guardsmen and veterans. To design the building, the state Military Department commissioned architect <strong>John J. Huddart</strong>, who worked on a dozen armories throughout the state. Huddart’s brick armories appeared fortress-like, combining the towers and parapets of the Gothic Revival style with Romanesque window arches on the façade. Classical columns on either side of the entryway marked the armories as government buildings. The design broke with the purely Gothic Revival or Romanesque armories elsewhere in the country, and some have referred to Huddart’s eclectic armory style as Mediterranean Revival.</p> <p>Situated in the rear of the Fort Morgan State Armory was a sixty-three-by-forty-eight-foot drill hall, complete with a balcony and stage so it could double as a theater or ballroom. The building also featured offices, dressing rooms, a kitchen, a second-floor reception room, a gymnasium, and a basement swimming pool.</p> <p>Denver contractors Danielson &amp; Son finished the armory in June 1922. The building cost $45,000; as it did with all armories, the state chipped in $30,000. To furnish the building, the National Guard company sold yearly memberships to 100 local men. For $10 per year, members could use the armory’s pool, gymnasium, and showers. Among the first items bought by the company with membership dues were library tables, pool tables, and easy chairs. The city and guard officers paid for more chairs, tables, a soda fountain, and a cigar case.</p> <p>In addition to training Company M, the armory hosted most of Fort Morgan’s large public events, including dances, speeches, fund-raisers, basketball games, plays, musicals, and boxing matches. The swimming pool was eventually converted into a storage room. During <strong>World War II</strong>, German prisoners of war were housed in the armory’s parking lot and fed in its dining room. The basement storage room was converted into a kitchen and the balcony dressing rooms were made into living quarters for the caretaker’s family. The building continued to be used for public events over the next several decades.</p> <h2>Today</h2> <p>In 1996 the National Guard moved to Denver and donated the armory to the city of Fort Morgan, which continued to use it as a public recreation center.</p> <p>In the early 2000s, Fort Morgan city engineer Mike Gay drafted plans to update the armory building and make it wheelchair accessible. In 2005 the city received $250,200 in grants from the <strong>State Historical Fund</strong> to rehabilitate and modernize the building. The armory received new aluminum double doors and a wheelchair ramp, as well as remodeled bathrooms and offices. Today the building serves as the Fort Morgan Recreation Center, featuring a basketball court with an elevated walking track and a weight-cardio room.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-morgan-history" hreflang="en">fort morgan history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-morgan-national-guard" hreflang="en">fort morgan national guard</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/national-guard" hreflang="en">national guard</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-morgan" hreflang="en">Fort Morgan</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Lyn Deal, “Fort Morgan State Armory,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (June 16, 2003).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="http://www.cityoffortmorgan.com/recreation">Fort Morgan Recreation Department</a></p> <p>Jennifer Patten, <em>In View of the Mountains: A History of Fort Morgan, Colorado</em> (n.p.: Smashwords, 2011).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 19 May 2017 17:03:33 +0000 yongli 2586 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org