FLOOD01260

• County: Larimer
• Community: Fort Collins
• Stream Name: Boxelder Creek, Dry Creek, Spring Creek
• Title: Flood Control for Boxelder Creek, Spring Creek, and Dry Creek - Fort Collins
• Date: 2/1/1994
• Prepared For: Larimer County
• Prepared By: US Army Corps of Engineers
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

Histork Conte~t" bv Steven Menls and 'Colorado Engim:ering Conte~t" by Joseph King.
Irrigation has played an integral role in the settlement of Colorado, and the remains of
early irrigation systems represent an imjXlrtantcultural resource.

T~.':.' ~':."::~~<:I t~"m" is transoortation. The UPRR is asso;:iatcd with a transportation
system that was instrumental in the settlement of the West.

. Site SLR990, This site <;onsists of the Alia Vista subdivision, whi<:h is a small
Hispanic settlement n\'rth of Andersonvilk. The SHPO has determined this site to be
eligible for the NRHP.

The third theme is irrigation. These sites indude Josh Ames Ditch (now aban-
doned), Lake Canal, and Larimer and Weld CanaL Irrigation was pivotal to settlement
of the Front Range. This area would not have be<:ome an important population center
if agriculture had not been supported by irrigation. German immigrants may have
focuscd on an agricultural subsistence base. Further evaluation of these irrigation
systems in the proje<:t area would need to beconductcd as part of any feasib ilitystudies,
Irrigation systems wert likely to have been first built by early Hispanic settlers in
Colorado and expanded by later Anglo-American settlers. A number of important irriga-
tion innovatkms were developed or improved in Colorado. The Cache La Poudre River
and the Cache La poudre River basin are being considered as National Heritage Areas
andasa .workingriver" for these reasons.

The archeological sites in the Dry Creek ~tud)' area date to the historic ;reriod.
Specific sites along Boxelder and Spring Creeks were not identified as a part of this
study, Ina letter dated S July 1990, the Colorado State Historic Preservation Officer
(SHPO) (refer to Appendix A) identified the following sites;

. Site SLR995, This site consists of Lake Canal, which runs parallel toDry Creek.
This site is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

. Larimer and Weld Canal. This irrigation canal is listed on the NKHP,

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A wide complex of irrigation syst<:ms has b<:en built in this pan of Colorado. These
systems havebt:en upgraded and rebuilt over time. a.nd unu:;cdportions survive in some
areas. For example, what apP"'<ltcd to be an abandonoo drop ,tructure w<I, ubserv.:d west
ofAlta Vista during a brief cultural resource field survey. Otherrcsol.lrccs associawd
with irrigation arc located in the study an~a, including a diversion structure on Larimer
and Wcld Canal Md other devices lO control tile flows of the canals.

Two other sites of potential historical importance, for which no additional informa-
tion i,ava.ilableeonccrning thcir eligibility for tile National Register of HislOric Places.
arc the Josh Ames Ditch and the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) line,

All \If the above sites arc associated with three themes that the SHPO considers
important t<:l Colorado, The fir,t theme is ethnicity. AlLa Vista was apparently first
settled by German immigrants and is now dominated by memhen of the Hispanic eUmic
group. It contc.in, distinctive elements of Hispanic ard,itccture such as adohe (01)-
sm,et;on.

RECRt:.'\ TlO:"

There are extensive recreational resources in the city and vicinity of Port Collins,
The Cit)' has a highl;. devdopcd park system, Th~r~ are curr~ntly 33 parks, 17.8 mile'
01 rccrcationaltraih. I3 c,len-space areas. 7 recreation facilities. and 45 holes of golf
tCity of Port Collins' Parks and Recreat;on Ma,ter Plan. adopte<1 Fehruary 1(88) ill tile

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