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Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins, Colorado
Home Rule Municipality
Downtown "Old Town" Fort Collins
Downtown "Old Town" Fort Collins
Flag of Fort Collins, Colorado
Flag
Location of Fort Collins shown within the State of Colorado
Location of Fort Collins shown within the State of Colorado
Coordinates: 40°33′33″N 105°4′41″W / 40.55917°N 105.07806°W / 40.55917; -105.07806Coordinates: 40°33′33″N 105°4′41″W / 40.55917°N 105.07806°W / 40.55917; -105.07806
Country United States
State Colorado
County Larimer County Seat
Commissioned 1864
Incorporated February 12, 1883
Named for United States Army colonel William O. Collins
Government
 • Type Home Rule Municipality
 • Mayor Wade Troxell
 • Mayor pro tem Gerry Horak
 • City Manager Darin Atteberry
Area
 • Total 55.83 sq mi (122.1 km2)
 • Land 54.28 sq mi (120.5 km2)
 • Water 0.6 sq mi (1.6 km2)  1.27%
Elevation 5,003 ft (1,525 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 143,986
 • Estimate (2015) 161,000
 • Density 2,652.8/sq mi (984.4/km2)
Time zone MST (UTC−7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC−6)
ZIP Codes 80521 – 80528
Area code(s) 970
FIPS code 08-27425
GNIS feature ID 0204673
Highways I-25, US 287, SH 1, SH 14
Website fcgov.com
Fourth most populous Colorado city

Fort Collins is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, Fort Collins is located 65 miles (105 km) north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2016 estimated population of 161,000, it is the fourth most populous city in Colorado after Denver, Colorado Springs, and Aurora. Fort Collins is a midsize college city, home to Colorado State University.

Fort Collins was founded as a military outpost of the United States Army in 1864. It succeeded a previous encampment, known as Camp Collins, on the Cache La Poudre River, near what is known today as Laporte. Camp Collins was erected during the Indian wars of the mid-1860s to protect the Overland mail route that had been recently relocated through the region. Travelers crossing the county on the Overland Trail would camp there, but a flood destroyed the camp in June 1864. Afterward, the commander of the fort wrote to the commandant of Fort Laramie in southeast Wyoming, Colonel William O. Collins, suggesting that a site several miles farther down the river would make a good location for the fort. The post was manned originally by two companies of the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry and never had walls.


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