St. Vrain is a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
located in
Weld County
Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley, Colorado, Greeley.
Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Stati ...
, Colorado, United States. The town was located adjacent to the frontier
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
of
Fort Saint Vrain
Fort Saint Vrain was an 1837 fur trading post built by the Bent, St. Vrain Company, and located at the confluence of Saint Vrain Creek and the South Platte River, about 20 miles (32 km) east of the Rocky Mountains in the unorganized territ ...
northeast of the confluence of
Saint Vrain Creek
St. Vrain Creek (often known locally as the St. Vrain River) is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 25, 2011 ...
and the
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...
.
Etymology
The town of St. Vrain was named for nearby Fort Saint Vrain, which in turn took its name from
Ceran de Hault de Lassus de Saint-Vrain, its founder. The historic Saint Vrain was known as
Veranus of Cavaillon
Saint Veranus of Cavaillon (french: Véran, ''Vrain''; it, Verano) (died c. 590) was a French saint, with a cultus in Italy. He was born at Vaucluse and was bishop of Cavaillon.
Gregory of Tours writes of miracles performed by Veranus, includi ...
, a sixth-century French Christian bishop.
History
Fort Saint Vrain was built in 1837 in the unorganized territory. After the fort closed, the area remained an important meeting point and place of refuge. On May 30, 1854, the area became part of the new
Territory of Nebraska
The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...
.
Gold was discovered upstream along the South Platte River in July 1858,
and the area prospered from the prospector traffic along the
South Platte River Trail. A post office was established at St. Vrain on January 18, 1859, and later that year, the St. Vrain Claims Club platted the Town of St. Vrain to avoid
claim jumping. The extralegal
Territory of Jefferson
The Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed from October 24, 1859 until the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. The Jefferson Territory, named for Founding Father and Un ...
was organized on October 24, 1859, and on November 28, 1859, the Jefferson Territory created 12 counties including
St. Vrain's County and designated St. Vrain as the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
. The Jefferson Territory was superseded by the
Territory of Colorado
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.
The territory was organized in the w ...
on February 28, 1861, and on November 1, 1861, the Colorado Territory designated St. Vrain as the county seat of the new
Weld County
Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley, Colorado, Greeley.
Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Stati ...
.
Gradually, more accessible towns along the trail overtook St. Vrain. In 1868, the Weld County seat was moved to
Latham (in present-day
Greeley.) In 1875, the St. Vrain post office was moved to
Platteville. In 1951, a farmer plowed up most of the area of the town and little evidence of its existence remains.
See also
*
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
**
Bibliography of Colorado
The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America
This is a bibliography of the U.S. State of Colorado.
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General history
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*Sibley, George. ''Water Wranglers - The 75-Ye ...
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Index of Colorado-related articles
This is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. State of Colorado.
0–9
* .co.us – Internet second-level domain for the State of Colorado
* 4 Corners
** 4 Corners Monument
* 6th Principal Meridian
* 10-mile Range
* 10t ...
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Outline of Colorado
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Colorado:
Colorado – 22nd most populous, the eighth most extensive, and the highest in average elevation of the 50 United States. Colorado ...
*
Geography of Colorado
The geography of the United States, U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado is diverse, encompassing both rugged mountainous terrain, vast plains, desert lands, desert canyons, and mesas. Colorado is a landlocked U.S. state. In 1861, the Thirty-sixt ...
*
History of Colorado
The region that is today the U.S. State of Colorado has been inhabited by Native Americans and their Paleoamerican ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly more than 37,000 years. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major ...
*
List of places in Colorado
A
B
C
D
E
F
G-O
* List of places in Colorado G through O
P-Z
* List of places in Colorado P through Z
References
{{Reflist ...
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List of populated places in Colorado
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
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List of county seats in Colorado
This is a list of County seat#United States, county seats in the United States, U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado and its predecessors: the Colorado Territory, Territory of Colorado and the extralegal Jefferson Territory, Territory of Jefferson.
...
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List of ghost towns in Colorado
This is a list of some ghost towns in the U.S. State of Colorado. Colorado has over 1,500 ghost towns, although visible remains of only about 640 still exist. Due to incomplete records and legends that are now accepted as fact, no exhaustive li ...
***
Notes
References
External links
State of ColoradoWeld CountyHistory Colorado
{{Authority control
1848 establishments in the United States
County seats in Colorado
Ghost towns in Colorado
Former populated places in Weld County, Colorado