Industry Listing
From Weld County Old and New, Volume 1 1836-1983, by Carol Rein Shwayder
Industries
1870 Coal Mines: Austin Coal Mine, Boulder Valley Coal Mine, Briggs Coal Mine, Clayton Coal Mine
1872: Moodie Higley Coal Mine NW of Eaton
1875: Rob Roy Coal Mine
1872: 1st Sugar beets grown
1873: 1st Flour Mill Model Flour Mill “Snow Flake Flour”
1875: Grasshopper horde hit Weld County
1889: John & Max Kuner opened pickle factory in Greeley, it closed in 1962
1914: US had 78 Sugar factories, 16 in Colorado, 3 in Weld County (Eaton, Greeley & Windsor)
1919: Weld County known for alfalfa and potatoes; Greeley nicknamed “Spudville”
1920: Ft. Lupton Sugar factory built
1920: Dust Bowl hit
1920: Feed lot tried as experiment
1921: KFKA went on the air
1922: State Farm Insurance Co. started
1923: Colorado Soap Co. moved from Johnstown
1926: Johnstown Sugar factory started molasses
1927: Kuner bought out Epson to become Kuner – Epson Canning Co.
1928-1930: New Raymer electric was on part time
1930: Monfort of Colorado formed
1935: REA established
1935: Telephone Co at Briggsdale had telephone lines on barbed wire fences, sold to Wiggin Telephone Assoc.
1937: Libby McNeill started Libby pickle salting station in Johnstown
1939: Johnstown started first alfalfa dehydrating plant
Oct. 15, 1940: Evans named “Queen City of the Platte” had first RR Station in Weld County and first Telegraph station
Sept. 25, 1944: Greeley Municipal Airport dedicated “Crosier Field”
March 28, 1946: Childs Bakery 705 8th St razed. Built in 1871 by F.L.Childs, a member of the Union Colony. (Oldest building in downtown Greeley.)
Oct 25,1946: Clyde Shupe & Son again hauling coal from mines
1946 Dairies: Beatrice Foods Creamery, Ennes Dairy, Quality Dairy, Auburn Dairy, Goldsmith’s Dairy, Reed’s Dairy
Dec. 7, 1946: Colorado Coal Mine Union strike called off. Fire wood had been stockpiled at Island Grove Park by American Legion.
Dec. 13, 1946: UPRR flashing light at 8th St replaced flagman Axel Peterson, who had flagged there since 1910
Dec 1946: Weld County Library established since 1933 moved to 621 8th Ave. serves 122 Weld County schools with 22 branches and bookmobile
1948-1972: H.J. Heinze Co. Pickle receiving station in Windsor
Sept. 1 1910: Platteville’s first “Pickle Day”
1948: potato chip factory “Spud Chips” later “Clover Club”
1948: Ft Lupton Sugar Factory closed
1948: I-25 (Valley Highway) construction started Completed in 1958
1948: KYOU/1450 went on air; owned by Elwood Myer of Greeley
1948: “WARNOCO” skating rink opened at Sall’s Garden, owned by Clarence Sall Sr. since 1921. Park had roller skating, swimming pool and merry go round. Taken over by Barrett Bros. then leased by J. Warrick Norcross. Renamed in 1935. Lawrence Welk Band played there, and it held Toots Mondt wrestling matches.
1950: Oil found west of Ft. Morgan
1950: Anhydrous ammonia storage facility at Mullen Elevator in Roggen caught fire, contained before it exploded
1950: Weld County 2nd largest coal producer in Colorado, Las Animas 1st
1950: Oil exploration in Black Hollow oil field North of Windsor and West of Pierce
1950: Weld County produced 8% of Sugar beets in U.S. GW sugar factories at Eaton, Greeley, Johnstown and Windsor. Fruit and vegetable canning at Ft. Lupton & Greeley. Meat packers at Pierce & Windsor. Elevators at Greeley, La Salle, Milliken & Platteville
1950: Artificial insemination introduced
April 22, 1951: Weld County Potato Growers reached a Potato Market Agreement; Arnold Dalton, Eaton; R.B. McEwen, Greeley; R. N. Takamine, Greeley; Elmer Solber, Lucerne; O. L. Cogburn, Eaton; Don Stewart, Gilcrest; George Mercer, Ault; Rupert Lofgren, Milliken; Arthur Anderson, Ault; Harry Clark was Manager
June 1951: Ft Lupton transient labor camp for beet workers, opened
1951: Spud Chips factory 20 years old. Largest in Colorado 400 lb=100 lb chips used 100 sacks a day. Sold as Mac’s potato chips in Grand Junction, Bert Kens Flakes in Cheyenne, Challenger Chips in Denver, all made at Spud Chip factory
Oct 1952: Wright and McGill plant opened packaged fish hooks
Nov 2 1952: Weld County General Hospital dedicated and opened 220 beds
July 1953: Old Greeley Hospital, 11th Ave & 16th St became Weld County Nursing Home
Aug 1953: Kuner-Epson sweet corn, cabbage harvest by end of Aug, corn cobs and husks ground into silage, sold to Monfort feedlots
Oct. 1953: Wright & McGill to build glass fishing rod factory. Opened in 1954
1954: Hopkins College Store “Hoppys” 17th St & 8th Ave sold by owner, former mayor Price Hopkins to Donald Brown (college hang out)
Dec.1954: Weld County Certified Seed Potato Growers building burned at Lucerne. Built in 1944 using POW labor force.
1954: US/Co Potato Field Experiment Station 4.5 miles North East of Greeley (established in 1915) continued experiments on potato diseases & developing new types of potatoes, beans and onions.
1956: Bayly’s manufacturing delivered 1st load of Greeley made jeans to JC Penny Store labeled ‘Foremost’
1956-1982: Raincat pivotal irrigation established in Evans.
1956: UPRR petitioned Greeley to remove flagmen at 8th & 10th St crossing
1956: Dial telephones came to Greeley ( no more ‘ # please’)
1956: Greeley Spudnut Shop razed at 9th & 9th to make way for new F.W. Woolworth Building formally at 8th & 8th
1908-1958: Greeley Home Light & Power Co was 50 years old. Oldest agriculture electrical supplier
1958: Kuner-Epson Co bought Stokley-Van Camp. Kuner name still on cans
Oct 1958: New Bayly manufacturing plant constructed and opened. Old plant at 11th St & 8th Ave across from Garnsey & Wheeler Ford Garage
1958: Kuner –Epson Co did a $30,000 expansion at 9th Ave & 1st Street
1960: Montfort Packing Plant opened
Oct 1960: Cover Club food expanded “ Spud Chips” started in 1937. Incorporated by Mathew W. Newlon in 1947, Hod Sanderson expanded in 1960
1961: New Greeley post office at 925 11th Ave from 8th and 8th
Dec 20, 1961: Webster Feed Lots started by Dr. W.W. Webster (son Bill Webster began operation April 1962 ). Grandfather C.M. Webster / Cort Thompson shipped last buffalo calves to zoos in Lincoln Nebr. From Arickaree and Republican Valley (Yuma, Co)
1962: Greeley Federal Building 8th & 8th gave way for the Denver Dry
1962: Kuner-Epson Division of Stokley-Van Camp closed Greeley canning factory
1962: Model Flour Mills plant in Greeley closed, started in 1949, storage only now
1963: State Farm Insurance Co. Mountain States Regional office opened at 3001 8th Ave Evans
Feb. 1964: Three Gables Inn opened, later became Ramada Inn
March 1964: Camfield Hotel closed, built in 1881 and was called Oasis. Remodeled in 1908. Building razed in 1964 is still a parking lot.
May 1964: Denver Dry opened
1966: Stoneco Inc of Dacono run by Phil Stonebraker made fireworks and pyrotechnics
1967: KGRE –FM started, KCBL-FM CSC (1970 changed to KUNC FM )
1967: GW Sugar Co closed Windsor factory
1968: Public Service Co. plans to build Nuclear Power Plant near Platteville
1968: ITEL Corp. computer machine plant west of Greeley (DURA Intercontinental)
1969: Kodak began construction near Windsor
1969: KUAD on air
1970: Monfort of Co. opened feedlots near Gilcrest & LaSalle.
1970: Greeley Tribune turned 100 years old Started in 1870
1970: DURA closed. Aims community college took over for classrooms.
1973: Greeley Mall opened
July 20 1973: Greeley Chuckwagon Dinner Playhouse opened. Had been Weld County Livestock Commission Building 18th St and 1st Ave.
1974: Monfort moved Greeley feedlot to Kuner
1975: Weld County rated #1 in US as commercial cattle feeders
1976: Eaton GW Sugar factory closed
Dec. 1976: Ft. St Vrain Nuclear Generator Station produced electricity, not commercially until July 1979
1977: Grover Telephone Co sold to Wiggins Telephone Co.
March 1977: GW Sugar co at Johnstown closed molasses part of factory
1977: GW Sugar factory at Windsor torn down
Oct. 1977: Johnstown GW closed MSG Plant (monosodium Glutamate)
1978: Greeley GW factory only one in use. Dumps open were Hambert, Gilcrest, La Salle, Lowe, Kersey, Kuner, Hardin, Cloverly, Galeton, Gill, Malheus, Lucerne, Farmer(Spur), Ault, Stage, Pierce, So Pierce, Severance, Hurich, Black Hollow, Brighton factory, Hudson, Ward, Kluver, Dacono, Vasquez.
Feb 1980: Monfort of Colorado closed packing plant because of strike.
1981: Chuckwagon Dinner Playhouse closed New Years Eve
1982: Denver Bronco training camp in Greeley (bad press because of smell)
1982: Connecting Point opened cable TV and home computer
1982: Monfort re-opened without union contract
1982: Weld County rated 2nd most productive in US.
1982: Weld County Hospital now called Northern Colorado Medical Center
1983: Hewlett Packard opened new Greeley plant in May
1983: AMTRAK discontinued service to Greeley
1983: Johnstown GW corn syrup closed in August
1983: Denver Dry closed
1983: Downtown Greeley in bad shape
1983: Woolco closed. Target moved in
1983: Union Colony Civic Center to be built
1983: Old Central School Building renovated
DID YOU KNOW?
1875: Grasshopper horde hit Weld County