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<br />:> <br /> <br />In 1849 and again in 1858 and 1859 the siren call of <br />"gold": resounded through the land to entice many people <br />to Cal~fornia and then to the Pikes Peak, Central City, <br />and Bo~lder areas in search of quick riches. A few <br />struck it rich, but the majority soon left in disappoint- <br />ment. Those who knew how to farm settled in the St. Vrair <br />valley, where rich soil and abundant wild game gave new <br />hope. : The Town of Old Burlington was started just south <br />of present day Longmont in 1859. In the decade that fol- <br />lowed,: infinite labor and thought created a network of <br />irrigation ditches that laced the landscape to water <br />fertile soil, grow crops of wheat, corn, and sugar beets, <br />and to: raise herds of purebred Hereford cattle. Such <br />prospe~ity did not go unnoticed, for in November of 1870, <br />a group of well-to-do Easterners founded the Chicago <br />Colorado organization, whose purpose was to establish <br />a new tity in the West. In January of 1871, the Chicago <br />Colony: locating committee visited the town of Old <br />Burlington and the surrounding areas, were pleased with <br />what t~ey saw, and arranged to establish the Chicago <br />Colony! settlement on the high ground north and west of <br />Old Burlington. The Town of Longmont was laid out in <br />the sq~are mile bounded by the present First Avenue, <br />Martin:Street, Ninth Avenue, and Bower Street. The little <br />town grew and in the first year, 50 to 60 buildings were <br />t <br />erected and over 400 people settled in the new community. <br />In l87f, the Town of Longmont was linked to the outside <br />world when the Colorado Central built a railroad from <br />Golden: to Longmont. <br />, <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />it <br /> <br />, <br />Today, (agriculture is still the economic base of Longmont, <br />although nearby Denver and Boulder have influenced the <br />growth:of new commercial and industrial development, as <br />is typified by the plant built by the International <br />Business Machines Corporation near Niwot. This influence <br />is further reflected in the population trends of Longmont. <br />The population figures for Longmont in 1950, 1960, 1970, <br />1975, ~nd projected for 1980 and 1990 are 8,099; 11,489; <br />23,209~ 35,000; 47,254; and 68,154, respectively. The <br />climat~ is temperate--daily temperatures of 65 degrees <br />from M~y to September and 37 degrees from October to <br />April. : The average annual precipitation is 12 inches <br />for th~ City of Longmont and nearly 17 inches in the <br />mountains, with an average monthly rate of 1.5 inches <br />from April to September. <br />, <br /> <br />The ci~y lies within the St. Vrain Creek Basin with <br />headwaters extending by way of the North and South <br />St. Vrain Creeks into the Rocky Mountains up to the <br />Contin~ntal Divide. Elevations range from 4,900 feet in <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />'~.b.>^ <br /> <br />~~;";,--:;;:;--~--~ <br />