Friday, June 13, 2025
Small Town Vibe
Population 9000-10,999

Berthoud, CO: See how History is Alive in this Vibrant Town!

Small Town Vibe

Berthoud, Colorado

2020 Population: 10,322*

April 2025: While exploring the small towns north of Denver metro, I visited the historic Business District in Berthoud and discovered the many ways this community actively keeps its history alive in an everyday way!

Berthoud straddles the border of both Larimer and Weld Counties. It is located 21 miles south of Fort Collins (pop.169,810*) and 43 miles north of Denver in the Front Range Urban Corridor.

Berthoud town sign

Berthoud – A Brief History

Minor gold rush and early settlement Era

White settlers first came to the present-day Berthoud area in the early 1860s, following the Colorado Gold Rush. Although many filed homestead claims, the miners were soon replaced by the hardier souls who ranched and farmed the arid prairie.

The first platted location of what is now called Berthoud was where the Colorado Central Railroad planned to cross the Little Thompson Creek. First named Little Thompson, the town was renamed in honor of the rail route surveyor Edward L Berthoud. Ironically, the creekside location became problematic to the steam powered locomotives struggling with the excessive grade. So in the winter of 1883-84 and at the urging of the railroad officials, several buildings of the town were loaded on wheels and pulled by teams of draft animals to the town’s present-day location on the bluff one mile north of the river. The newly located town was incorporated in August 1888.

Home of the first Mayor of Berthoud

Agriculture replaces Mining as the primary economic driver

Due to the ability to divert water from the Little and Big Thompson Rivers into area reservoirs and ditches, agriculture flourished in the once arid area. Harvests of alfalfa, sugar beets, wheat, corn, and barley were all sold on the open market or used as feed for local sheep and cattle. The town grew as merchants and shopkeepers set up businesses to serve farmers and ranchers from the surrounding areas.

By the early 1900s, Berthoud had a bustling business district on Third Street and Massachusetts and Mountain Avenues.

Highway 287 arrives and is eventually rerouted

In the 1920s, Mountain Avenue became part of a paved state highway system, which would become U.S. Highway 287, connecting the larger towns of northern Colorado. In 2007, Highway 287 was rerouted to the north and west of Berthoud, bypassing downtown Berthoud and eliminating Mountain Avenue from the highway route.

Berthoud Embraces its History and its Historical Buildings

In 1976, then-Mayor Dr.R.B.Fickel recruited interested persons to meet to form a local historical society. The board of directors was able to secure the historic A.G. Bimson blacksmith shop at 228 Mountain Ave. to serve as the Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum complex. Today the Society operates the Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum (below) and the McCarty-Fickel Home house museum.

The Berthoud Grain Elevator was built around 1919 and used until 1980. It is notable for its eye-catching farm family mural. In 2013 the Grain Elevator was re-opened as a retail space called The Rancher’s Wife, which specializes in showcasing local Colorado products, antiques and vintage items.

While researching Berthoud’s history, i ran across this incredible story about how in the early 2000s, a local family began renovations on their historic farmhouse – only to discover that it had a log cabin inside the home! The original homestead family and subsequent owners had added rooms and siding to the original cabin to the degree it was unrecognizable in its original form. See the whole story at the Berthoud Historical Society website 🙂

Berthoud population booms in the 2000s

The population chart below shows a spike in population growth in the last couple of decades. Curious, i asked AI (google’s Gemini) what the factors might be resulting in this growth. The “confluence of factors” response seems plausible, so i am sharing it below.

  • Strategic Location within the Northern Colorado Front Range
    • proximity to employment centers in nearby larger towns of Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Boulder
    • easy access to I25, a major transportation corridor
    • access to large state universities in both Fort Collins and Boulder
  • Quality of Life and Small-Town Appeal
    • area natural beauty and recreation (i.e. Carter Lake, Rocky Mountains, and closer to home, tree lined streets)
    • Family-friendly, boasting good schools, strong sense of community, frequent local events
    • Preservation of character in the form of its historic downtown and maintaining its historical agricultural roots
  • Housing Affordability (Relative to Neighboring Cities)
    • a significant increase in residential building permits and numerous housing developments has resulted in a large volume of new homes – this is considered a major factor in population increase.
  • Proactive Economic Development and Planning
    • a “business-Friendly” approach to city government, offering incentives and support
    • Infrastructure investment in roads, water systems, etc
    • Diversifying economy beyond agriculture
    • Strategic growth management by the town, which has adopted comprehensive plans aimed at managing growth that balances preservation of character while enhancing development.
  • Pent-Up Demand from Past Growth Caps

small town vibe

See our 6 Favorite Discoveries in Berthoud

Walking around historic downtown Berthoud was interesting and a lot of fun!

Berthoud Parks & Rec Guide

#1. Beautiful historic buildings in the main business district

Berthoud has a large number of historic buildings along its main business district streets – Mountain Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue. Most historic buildings house active businesses and community services.

#2. Many Unique downtown shops in historic buildings

#3. A wide variety of downtown restaurants and snack options!

Although I didn’t stop to eat or snack in any of these restaurants, i was amazed at the wide variety of food options all in easy walking distance of the historic downtown (main business district)

#4. A Community Art Hub and many installations of public art

While walking around the historic downtown business district, i enjoyed the variety of public art options.

This Community Art Hub is a non-profit that offers a variety of classes, performances and events. Thier goal is to “building community through the arts”, which i love. Their building is historic and has a beautiful mural on the side.

#5. History museum located in historic downtown!

The Berthoud museum complex is called Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum, and has an impressive collection of buildings and related events available. I love that its main location is on Mountain Avenue, through the main historic business district. In my research, i find a wide variety of events and programs they offer both to serve the community and to help fund their mission. Programs include: Concerts in the Courtyard, Trivia Nights, Stargazing at a 1930s observatory, Speaker series and kids summer workshops. Fun!

#6. Convenient parking in a practical spot

As I have described, there is much to do and see (and eat and drink!) during a visit to Berthoud! My next favorite thing involves the logistics of a visit and tickles my aesthetic fancy :).

There are train tracks that run through the middle of historic downtown. In my experience, train tracks are often an unattractive setting littered with debris and junk piles, not to mention noisy. The town of Berthoud uses this space in a practical and attractive way as free parking! As you can see in the photo below, the parking lot is on one side of the tracks and located on the other side is the Berthoud Fire Department. I think this is so smart!

More to Explore

Annual Events

Organizations that Support Community

Area Metro District policy and processes

This next exploration involves the “city planning nerd” in me… Metropolitan Districts. I am learning more about these municipal entities, which are often used as a development tool in the state of Colorado (learn more HERE). These districts bring great benefits to residents in the form of infrastructure and amenities, but often at significant debt funded through Mil Levy’s placed on the property taxes of those same residents. These debts often take many decades to pay back. The Mill Levys generally have a substantial impact on homeowner property taxes – sometimes as much as doubling them. As Peter Parker’s uncle (of Spiderman fame) – with great power come great responsibility.

So in that vein, I am impressed to learn that Berthoud has a policy for ongoing review of service plans for Metropolitan Districts – “The Town wishes to require a high standard of use for Districts, thereby limiting their use to situations that provide a true public benefit.” Their Metro District policy review process outlines the methodology they use to use Metropolitan districts in a balanced way.

Annexation of an area west and east of I25

Continuing on the “city planning nerd” path, i was also curious about the chunk of property within Berthold’s boundaries east of I25, while historic Berthold is west of the interstate. So again i asked AI (google’s gemini) when and why the town decided to annex this property to the east – accessible only by a string of Hwy 56 (see google map of Berthoud boundaries below). The answer sounds plausible and is interesting, so i am sharing the results below.

Berthoud’s annexation of property east of I-25 has been a significant and sometimes contentious part of its growth strategy. While a precise single “when” is difficult to pinpoint due to the nature of annexations often occurring in phases or as specific parcels are ready for development, the major push for annexation east of I-25 became particularly prominent in the early 2000s, especially around 2001-2005, and has continued with various individual annexations since then.

  • Sales Tax Revenue and Economic Development
    • “Gateway” to town – since the I25 corridor is a major trnsportaiton artery, the areas immediately adjacent to it are highly desirable for commercial and industrial development (i.e.sales taxes offer a valuable revenue stream)
    • Competition with neighboring communities – i.e. if not Berthoud, then other nearby towns will.
    • Diversifying the tax base – adding commercial and industrial property tax beyond the existing residential property tax revenue
  • Controlling Growth and Planning
    • Managed growth – by controlling the development within the annexed areas
    • Preventing “hodgepodge” development – pursuing more of a ‘master plan’ type of growth strategy
    • Providing municipal services – enables the extension of water, sewer and other municipal services efficiently and in a planned manner, rather than ad hoc by individual developers
  • Future Residential and Mixed-Use Development – allows for the opportunities for large-scale mixed-use developments, combining residential and commercial and even light industrial uses.

Map of Berthoud

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