By the early 1900s Volga Germans from the Russian colonies Frank, Dietel, Dreispitz, Erlenbach, Kautz, Merkel, Oberdorf, Pobochnaya, Rosenberg, Shcherbakovka, and Walter settled in Fort Collins.
With the constrution of a sugar refinery in 1903, Fort Collins became another Northern Colorado link between the sugarbeet industry and Volga Germans. The Fort Collins Colorado Sugar Company brought forty-eight Volga German families to Fort Collins in April 1903.
A tent city was constructed for them when they first arrived. The neighborhoods of Buckingham and Andersonville, built quite literally in the shadow of the sugar factory east of town, were largely inhabited by Volga German immigrants and their families. The Volga Germans called this area "Saratow" or sometimes "St. Petersburg." The press referred to the neighborhoods as "Russianville," "New Russia," "Russian Quarters," "Little Russia," and "Russiatown."
The Board of Home Missions of the German Evangelical Church Assembly of German Congregationalists established an academy in Fort Collins in 1914 to train ministers. However, after two or three years, the academy closed.
American Lutheran Church
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Christ Congregational Church
German Congregational Church
Immanuel Christian Reformed Church
Plymouth Congregational Church
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
Trinity Lutheran Church
The following Volga German families settled in and around Fort Collins, Colorado:
Adler from Kolb
Ahlbrandt from Grimm
Altergott from Dönhof
Aschenbrenner from Norka
Asmus from Oberdorf
Bauer from Frank
Bender from Kratzke
Bischoff
Blehm from Kratzke
Borgens from Frank
Boxberger from Kratzke
Brunner from Grimm
Buderus from Merkel
Burbach from Norka
Case from Göbel
Deering from Norka
Deines from Kratzke
Denning from Herzog
Depperschmidt from Liebental
DeWald from Hussenbach
Dietz from Kratzke & Walter
Dinges from Wittmann
Dinkel from Herzog
Dreiling from Herzog
Dreith from Beideck
Eckas (Ickes) from Kutter
Fabrizius from Kratzke
Fahrenbruch from Frank
Feit from Erlenbach
Fladung from Schönchen
Floth from Frank
Foos from Frank
Frank from Kautz
Friehauf from Norka
Fritz from Friedenfeld
Fromm from Hussenbach
Galyardt from Dreispitz
Gareis from Köhler
Gerk from Josefstal
Giebler from Ober-Monjou
Gies from Walter
Grauberger from Dietel
Grenz from Franzosen
Hagel from Norka
Hahn from Norka
Hanneman form Yagodnaya Polyana
Hartung from Brunnental
Helzer from Norka
Hergenreter from Sewald
Hergert from Erlenbach
Herman from Hussenbach
Heronemus from Warenburg
Hettinger from Dietel
Hilgenberg from Lilienfeld
Hoff from Frank
Hohnstein from Norka
Johannes from Kukkus
Kaltenberger from Grimm
Kammerzell from Frank
Karst from Holstein
Kechter from Kolb & Walter
Kloberdanz from Rothammel
Knaub from Merkel
Knaus from Kratzke
Koehler from Beideck
Krumm from Kukkus
Kuehn from Neu-Beideck
Kurtz from Neu-Dönhof
Lang from Kamenka
Legler from Grimm
Lesser from Frank
Lichtenwaldt from Dönhof
Luft from Gnadenflur
Lutz from Frank
Manweiler from Rosenberg
Margheim from Merkel
Maul from Schilling
Meis from Katharinenstadt
Meisinger from Neu-Messer
Michaelis from Kratzke
Mill from Dietel
Miller from Kolb
Morgheim from Merkel
Pappenheim from Dönhof
Peppler from Hussenbach
Pfeif from Frank
Pister from Merkel
Reffel from Kana
Reichert from Dietel
Reider from Kautz
Rein from Konstantinovka
Ring from Dietel
Robertus from Balzer & Neu-Balzer
Rodenberger from Hussenbach
Rosenoff from Hussenbach
Roth from Grimm
Roth from Kamenka
Ruff from Oberdorf
Sauer from Norka
Schaffer from Frank
Scheck from Herzog
Schell from Sewald
Schillereff from Kolb
Schimpf from Oberdorf
Schlitt from Norka
Schmer from Oberdorf
Schmidt from Pfeifer
Schmidtberger from Herzog
Schoneman from Norka
Schwartzkopf from Dönhof
Schwindt from Norka
Seilback from Hussenbach
Simon from Neu-Bauer
Sommers from Pfeifer
Starck from Anton
Steely from Kautz
Stoll from Erlenbach
Stumpf from Warenburg
Suppes from Pfeifer
Traudt from Norka
Volz from Balzer
Waag from Grimm
Walker from Frank
Wasinger from Herzog
Weber from Neu-Messer
Weidenkeller from Norka
Weitzel from Frank
Welsch from Nieder-Monjou
Werner from Susannental
Werth from Schönchen
Wiesner from Kamenka
Winter from Wiesenfeld
Wolf from Neu-Ober-Monjou
Yeager from Norka
Younger from Herzog
- Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlement in the United States (Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974): 50.
- Thomas, Adam. "Work Renders Life Sweet." Fort Collins Advance Planning Department, August 2003. [Online]
- Tripp, Harley. History of the RMC.
- USA Settlement List (Patricia Miller)
Fort Collins, Colorado (Wikipedia)
Great Western Sugar Beet Factory in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Source: CSU Libraries Archives & Special Collections.
Area east of Fort Collins showing the neighborhoods of Andersonville & Buckingham surrounding the sugar factory.
Source: Adam Thomas.