Weld County History

Before the coming of European settlers, several nomadic Native American tribes called eastern Colorado home. These included the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shoshone, and Kiowa.

The first European explorers to the region were Spanish. The Spaniards created settlements in southern Colorado and claimed the land in the name of Spain. Later French trappers and missionaries visited the area.

Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States government sent explorers to the area to assess the potential of the land. The accounts given by the explorers were unfavorable; they determined the area would never be worth anything as far as agriculture was concerned. The plains where Weld County is today became known as the Great American Desert.

In the 1830s and 1840s fur trading posts were built along the South Platte River in what is now Weld County. The posts (Fort Lupton, Fort Jackson, Fort Vasquez, and Fort Saint Vrain) were stocked with items to trade to Indians for beaver skins. The decline in the demand for beaver brought an end to the commercial use of the forts.

By the late 1840s, only a few settlers were living in Weld County. However, the numbers of settlers began to increase once the Pikes Peak Gold Rush began in 1858.

At that time the area was part of Nebraska Territory. Because the capital of Nebraska Territory was distant, residents felt that legal protections for their land claims needed to be nearer to home. The Saint Vrain Club was formed by residents near the abandoned Fort Saint Vrain. It was the start of Saint Vrain County, the forerunner of Weld County.

In 1861 Colorado was declared a territory by President Buchanan. The territory then was divided into 17 counties. Weld County encompassed most of the northeastern part of Colorado Territory. The county was named after Lewis Ledyard Weld, Colorado Territory Secretary.

The Pony Express and later the Union Pacific routes cut across the northeastern corner of Weld County.

With the coming of the Union Pacific in the late 1860s, Weld County was about to flourish. The railroad town of Evans was founded in 1867, and shortly afterward the community of Union Colony (later renamed Greeley) was established in 1869.

Irrigation and determined settlers fed an agricultural boom that continued into the early 1900s. The sugar beet industry in particular was key to growing the Weld population.

Agriculture continued to be central to Weld County's economy and identity through the 20th century.