Berthoud Weekly Surveyor December 12, 2013 Page 5 The historical society and Mark French are interested in obtaining and copying old photos from Berthoud’s past. Please contact Mark at 532-2147 if you have any photos you would like to share.
A LOOK AT BERTHOUD
Turner’s homestead house once stood on site of Mountain Avenue roundabout
P
eter Turner founded Berthoud on Nov. 27, 1883, when he took the train to the Larimer county seat in Fort Collins and filed “A Platte for the Town of Berthoud.” Turner’s plat map included eight city blocks and identified a new site for the original Berthoud settlement that was nestled one mile away on the Little Thompson river bottom. Berthoud had failed to thrive at that location so, at the urging of officials from the Colorado Central Railroad, Turner platted a site for the town at the southeast corner of his 160-acre homestead. Five years earlier, in 1878, Turner had staked claim to the quartersection homestead on which a large portion of present-day Berthoud now stands. Turner’s homestead house, which was built that year, sat at the
northwest corner of the intersection of present-day Surveyor First Street and Mountain Columnist Avenue. Turner’s house site is now covered by the cement expanse of the highway “roundabout” that occupies that location. Unlike many early homesteaders of the Little Thompson Valley whose first homes were hastily built log cabins or hand-excavated dugouts, Turner’s dwelling Mark was a frame building. Since French Turner had prospered at the Sunshine mining camp north of Boulder before he staked his homestead claim in the Berthoud area, he possessed money enough to purchase milled lumber and manufactured hardware for his new home.
BERTHOUD GYMNASTS
Turner also had the financial means to help with the construction of the Handy Ditch system that brought water from the Big Thompson River to the Berthoud area in 1881. Upon Turner’s arrival at his homestead claim in the Little Thompson Valley his family consisted of his wife Betty, sons William and Beverly, who had been born in Iowa; and daughter Susan, who was born at the Sunshine mining camp northwest of Boulder. In 1882 and 1884 sons “Duck” and Jim were born at the family’s homestead house. Since Berthoud officially came into existence at its new site on Turner’s homestead in November 1883, Jim was the first child born in the new town. The photograph of Peter’s homestead house that accompanies this article was taken by an unknown photographer who snapped the shot sometime in the 1890s. Peter, who sported a jacket and a wide-brimmed hat, may be seen at the left of the photo. His wife Betty, who wore a white apron and dark-colored hat, may be seen at the right of the photo. The identities of the children and young women in the photo are unknown. It is likely, however, that they are members of
BCLD announces winner of the Power of Story Art Contest
Photo courtesy of the Berthoud Historical Society
Peter Turner’s homestead shanty once stood at the northwest corner of the intersection of First Street and Mountain Avenue. Turner, dressed in coat and hat, may be seen at the left of the photo. His wife Betty stands at the right of the photo in a white apron and floppy black hat.
Turner’s family. If Turner’s homestead house was still standing it would be the oldest dwelling in Berthoud. It is not, however, since it was razed after the town founder’s death in 1912. Only a handful of dwellings from the homestead era remain to remind us of that time in the valley’s early years when an individual could claim
Special to the Surveyor Patrons of the Berthoud Community Library District voted overwhelmingly for three acrylics painted by local artist Bethany Bailey: Fox Tales; Flying Squirrels; and Knight Owls. The paintings are destined for a wall in the children’s section and, out of all the artists’
Photo by Kate Smith
From left to right the girls are Kylla Justice, Maddy Blair, Brittani Myers, Abby Hazlett and Morgan Kenner.
Premier Gymnastics of the Rockies Level 5 team wrapped up their season at the Level 5 State Championships Gymnastics Meet on Nov. 23 and 24. The meet was held in Northglenn. As a team, they placed fifth in the team competition. In the individual events, Kylla Justice placed third on vault, second on uneven bars and floor, and third in the all-around competition. Morgan Kenner placed third on balance beam and fifth in the allaround competition.
Who says Friday the 13th has to be unlucky?
The Surveyor thinks it should be your lucky day! Get a new subscription or renew an existing one to the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor this Friday, December 13,
FOR ONLY $13 (Regularly $32 in 80513, $42 elsewhere)
HERE’S HOW: Call 970.532.2252 or stop by 440 Mountain Ave. between 8:13 a.m. and 4:13 p.m. this Friday, December 13, to lock in the rate. Existing subscribers can renew for another year at $13 even if your subscription won’t end for months. Please pay by phone with your credit card, if possible. If not, the Surveyor will send an invoice, which you must pay within 13 days.
Photo by Pam Martin
Bethany Bailey won the Power of Story art contest. Her three paintings (shown below) will be featured in the library.
a parcel of land for $10, live on it and improve it for five years, and get deed to the property when they “proved up” at the end of that period. Nearly every parcel of land in the valley got its owner through that process and the ones that didn’t will be a tale for another day.
submissions, these three were considered the ones to best capture the contest’s theme; the power of story. “Reading is fun and ignites the imagination,” said Bailey. “It gives us the power to experience different worldS ... I wanted to promote reading in an obvious, yet interesting and unique way.” One painting depicts squirrel superheroes engrossed in a story being read by their mother and, according to Bailey, reveals the transformation that comes over the reader when she or he is engrossed in an alternate, literary landscape. Bailey is an artist who paints commissioned portraits and abstracts, among other subjects. Her family moved to Berthoud five years ago, and ever since her arrival she’s been a regular library visitor. “[My kids] check out books every week. I’m trying to create a life-long habit of reading.” Jeffrey, Annabelle and Charlotte make their own reading choices and the girls come weekly to story time, hosted by Youth Services Librarian Christy Headrick. Her artwork was inspired in part by the library’s recent remodel. “I just thought they did such a great job,” Bailey enthused. She incorporated “the green on the walls and the dark magenta of the shelves.” Starting with neutral tones, she used the library’s design scheme “for some pops of color” in the paintings. “What I love so much about [Bailey’s] work — it’s real art, but it’s accessible to kids,” said Library Director Sara Wright. “The word play is just right for the age group. I thought she was very creative in incorporating a layer of language within the context of visual art.” Please join the BCLD for its Polar Express Holiday Party on Dec. 21 from 12 - 5 p.m. Fun for families will include holiday story times, movies, and crafts.