Union Colony of Colorado
Encyclopedia
The Union Colony of Colorado (also called the Greeley Colony and The Union Temperance Colony) was a 19th century U.S.
private enterprise formed to promote agricultural
settlement in the South Platte River
valley in the Colorado Territory
. Organized in October 1869 by Nathan Meeker
in order to establish a religious
ly oriented utopia
n community of "high moral standards", the colony was founded the following year at present-day Greeley, Colorado
, which was established by the colony in March 1870. It was financed and promoted by New York Tribune
editor Horace Greeley
, a prominent advocate of settlement of the American West. The colony greatly advanced homesteading
and irrigation
usage in present-day northern Colorado, demonstrating the viability of cultivation at a time when agriculture was emerging as a rival of mining
as the basis for the territorial economy.
Horace Greeley had journeyed west in 1859 at the height of the Colorado Gold Rush
, going from Denver
to Fort Laramie via the Overland Stage before continuing west to California
. Greeley's route took him up the valleys of the South Platte and Cache la Poudre near the eventual location of the colony. In 1869 Greeley sent Meeker, then employed as the agricultural editor of the Tribune, west to the Colorado Territory to seek out a location for a colony to promote settlement in the West. Meeker returned to New York City
in the autumn of 1869, reporting that the South Platte Valley presented a good opportunity for the colony. In October Meeker organized the enterprise and on December 14, 1869, he placed an advertisement in the Tribune issue calling for volunteers to join him in the new venture. Meeker's advertisement specifically sought volunteers of high moral standards, who were literate
and temperant
. The cost of membership for those accepted to the colony was set at $155. Of the more than 3000 people who responded, Meeker selected 700 applications as prospective colonists, ninety of whom later backed out. With the collected membership fees, Meeker journeyed west again in the Spring of 1870 with two other officers. They purchased a tract of land in Weld County
near the confluence of the Cache la Poudre
and South Platte.
The colony thrived and expanded, attracting other homesteaders to the area. The religious nature of the colony was not agreeable to all the settlers, however, a portion of whom spread out to other nearby lands in the area (see Jacob Flowers
, for example). During the 1870s the colony was particularly known for its heavy use of irrigation, with one visitor reporting that nearly every person in the cooperative was involved in the maintaining of at least one irrigation ditch. Two years later in 1872, the success of the colony inspired some of its officers to found the Fort Collins Agricultural Colony
upstream on the Poudre River at Fort Collins
. The city of Greeley was later incorporated in 1886. Meeker, the founder of the colony, was killed by Ute
s at the Meeker Massacre in western Colorado in 1879.
Although the Colony has been long dissolved, its influence is still recognized in the area and the region's history. Greeley remained a dry municipality until 1972 because of the provisions of the charter which prohibited the sale or consumption of alcohol, in accordance with the temperance requirements of the original settlers. As a result, several nearby towns grew more rapidly as the source of liquor, and at least two small towns, Rosedale
, and Garden City
, were established and incorporated largely to allow saloons, bars, and liquor stores to feed the demand of the University of Northern Colorado
students and faculty and other residents of Greeley. Today, the City of Greeley does not provide fire protection services, which are instead provided by the Union Colony Fire Rescue Authority and the major city complex is the "Union Colony Civic Center." The irrigation system built by the Colony remains an important part of the area, although growing urbanization threatens more and more of the productive croplands the irrigation systems allowed to be utilitized.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
private enterprise formed to promote agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
settlement in the South Platte River
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
valley in the Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
. Organized in October 1869 by Nathan Meeker
Nathan Meeker
Nathanial C. Meeker was a 19th-century United States journalist, homesteading entrepreneur, and Indian agent for the federal government. He is noted for his founding in 1870 of the Union Colony, a cooperative agricultural colony in present-day Greeley, Colorado...
in order to establish a religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
ly oriented utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n community of "high moral standards", the colony was founded the following year at present-day Greeley, Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
The City of Greeley is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Weld County, Colorado, United States. Greeley is located in the region known as Northern Colorado. Greeley is situated north-northeast of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. According to the...
, which was established by the colony in March 1870. It was financed and promoted by New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
editor Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
, a prominent advocate of settlement of the American West. The colony greatly advanced homesteading
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
and irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
usage in present-day northern Colorado, demonstrating the viability of cultivation at a time when agriculture was emerging as a rival of mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
as the basis for the territorial economy.
History
Horace Greeley had journeyed west in 1859 at the height of the Colorado Gold Rush
Colorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...
, going from Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
to Fort Laramie via the Overland Stage before continuing west to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Greeley's route took him up the valleys of the South Platte and Cache la Poudre near the eventual location of the colony. In 1869 Greeley sent Meeker, then employed as the agricultural editor of the Tribune, west to the Colorado Territory to seek out a location for a colony to promote settlement in the West. Meeker returned to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the autumn of 1869, reporting that the South Platte Valley presented a good opportunity for the colony. In October Meeker organized the enterprise and on December 14, 1869, he placed an advertisement in the Tribune issue calling for volunteers to join him in the new venture. Meeker's advertisement specifically sought volunteers of high moral standards, who were literate
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
and temperant
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. The cost of membership for those accepted to the colony was set at $155. Of the more than 3000 people who responded, Meeker selected 700 applications as prospective colonists, ninety of whom later backed out. With the collected membership fees, Meeker journeyed west again in the Spring of 1870 with two other officers. They purchased a tract of land in Weld County
Weld County, Colorado
As of the census of 2000, there were 180,936 people, 63,247 households, and 45,221 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 66,194 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
near the confluence of the Cache la Poudre
Cache La Poudre River
The Cache la Poudre River is in the state of Colorado in the United States.Its headwaters are in the Front Range in Larimer County, in the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park. The river descends eastward in the mountains through the Roosevelt National Forest in Poudre Canyon...
and South Platte.
The colony thrived and expanded, attracting other homesteaders to the area. The religious nature of the colony was not agreeable to all the settlers, however, a portion of whom spread out to other nearby lands in the area (see Jacob Flowers
Jacob Flowers
Jacob Flowers was an early white 19th century settler in Larimer County, Colorado. He was the founder of the town of Bellvue northwest of Fort Collins.-Biography:...
, for example). During the 1870s the colony was particularly known for its heavy use of irrigation, with one visitor reporting that nearly every person in the cooperative was involved in the maintaining of at least one irrigation ditch. Two years later in 1872, the success of the colony inspired some of its officers to found the Fort Collins Agricultural Colony
Fort Collins Agricultural Colony
The Fort Collins Agricultural Colony was a 19th century enterprise in Larimer County, Colorado to promote new agricultural and commercial settlement in and around the town of Fort Collins...
upstream on the Poudre River at Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
. The city of Greeley was later incorporated in 1886. Meeker, the founder of the colony, was killed by Ute
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
s at the Meeker Massacre in western Colorado in 1879.
Although the Colony has been long dissolved, its influence is still recognized in the area and the region's history. Greeley remained a dry municipality until 1972 because of the provisions of the charter which prohibited the sale or consumption of alcohol, in accordance with the temperance requirements of the original settlers. As a result, several nearby towns grew more rapidly as the source of liquor, and at least two small towns, Rosedale
Rosedale, Colorado
Rosedale, Colorado is a former municipality in Weld County, Colorado, United States, now a part of the City of Greeley.Rosedale was founded and incorporated in 1939 to allow the establishment of saloons, bars, and liquor stores to serve the Greeley community; Greeley, established as part of the...
, and Garden City
Garden City, Colorado
The Town of Garden City is a Statutory Town located in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The population was 357 at the 2000 census. With a total are less than one square mile, it is literally surrounded by the cities of Greeley, Colorado and Evans, Colorado....
, were established and incorporated largely to allow saloons, bars, and liquor stores to feed the demand of the University of Northern Colorado
University of Northern Colorado
-Organization:The University of Northern Colorado offers 100 undergraduate programs and more than 100 graduate programs. The university has a satellite campus in Denver, Colorado...
students and faculty and other residents of Greeley. Today, the City of Greeley does not provide fire protection services, which are instead provided by the Union Colony Fire Rescue Authority and the major city complex is the "Union Colony Civic Center." The irrigation system built by the Colony remains an important part of the area, although growing urbanization threatens more and more of the productive croplands the irrigation systems allowed to be utilitized.