Volga German families settled in and around Rocky Ford. Many were enticed to move to Rocky Ford to work for the American Crystal Sugar Company and in the sugar beet industry that supported the plant. The American Sugar Beet Company built a factory in Rocky Ford in 1901.
The following Volga German families are known to have lived in Rocky Ford:
Axt from Jost
Bender from Kratzke
Brandt
Dahmer from Wiesenmüller
Dreher from Neu-Ober-Monjou
Elsesser
Engelman
Frank
Geringer / Goeringer from Lauwe
Grasmick from Lauwe
Hettinger from Dietel
Johannes from Kukkus
Kaplan
Kindsvater
Lohrey
Meier
Pinnecker from Wiesenmüller
Propp from Hussenbach
Reifschneider from Langenfeld
Schaefer from Wiesenmüller
Schwien
Starkheim
Stenzel from Ährenfeld
Yergert from Eckheim
- Sugar Beet Industry (History Colorado)
Otero County Census Indices (1900, 1910, 1920)
Rocky Ford, Colorado (Wikipedia)
Crystal Sugar Factory in Rocky Ford.
Source: Bound Staff Press via Pinterest.
American Sugar Beet Company Factory in Rocky Ford, built in 1901.
Source: History Colorado; E-Colorado Encyclopedia.