History and Heritage of
Cache La Poudre and Ft.Collins
by Johnny Walker
The area had been used for a couple of decades by many of America's famous mountain men like Lucian StVrain, Joseph Walker, Kit Carson and Freemont, but a small band of French trappers were the ones to make a name stick on the beautiful little river flowing out of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
The year was 1836, during the early winter a party of French fur trappers were making their way northward along the foothills of Colorado's front range. Because of a heavy snow they found it necessary to lighten their load before they headed into the rugged mountains to the West. Planning to come back to reclaim their goods on their return trip they buried the excess supplies, mainly powder and lead shot for their guns. The French word for hiding place is "Cache" and the word for powder is "Poudre", thus the river was named the Cache la Poudre.
Antoine Janis, a young boy of 12 who was part of the group, returned eight years later to establish his home near the present town of LaPorte. His original cabin is now part of the historical display at the Pioneer Museum in Fort Collins. Laurie state park is located nearby and offers excellent warm water fishing opportunities with Bass, perch and hybrid "wipers" regularly taken.
Since the river could be easily forded by wagons at this location it became an important stop on the Overland Stage route and a strategic trading post for the entire area. Army troops were sent to protect it against Indian attack and in 1864 the camp site was named Camp Collins, for Lieutenant Colonel William Collins the commander of the garrison at Fort Laramie to the north. That spring a flood wiped out the original camp and the fort was moved 5 miles downstream to higher ground which is the present site of the modern city of Fort Collins. With the successful campaign against the hostile Indians completed the fort was abandoned in 1867.
Settlement in the valley really began to increase by 1869 when the vanguard of the Mercer Colony arrived. In 1873 they were followed by another colony of farmers. It was the same year that the town of Fort Collins was incorporated and the first newspaper was established. The Colorado Central Railroad arrived in 1877 bringing with it connections to the main coast to coast rail lines running through Cheyenne and Laramie 40 miles to the north. The agricultural college of Colorado had been started in 1870 demonstrating the local committment to agricultural persuits. The school is now known as Colorado State University.
You can follow the old Overland Stage route by following Hwy. 287. Drive Nine miles north west of town to the entrance to the Poudre Canyon. Some of the best fly fishing in the state can be found on the upper stretches of the Cache La Pouder. Rainbow, Brown, Cutthroat, and Brook trout, all can be found in the local streams. Chambers lake, Red Feather lakes and Horsetooth Reservoir as well as the upper headwaters of the Laramie River, which runs North into Wyoming, can all be accessed from this route.
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