St. Vrain is a
ghost town located in
Weld County, Colorado, United States. The town was located adjacent to the frontier
trading post of
Fort Saint Vrain 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.
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, 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.
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 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. The Jefferson Territory was superseded by the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.
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
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Bibliography of Colorado
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Index of Colorado-related articles
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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
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History of Colorado
*
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
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List of post offices in Colorado
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