Windsor, Colorado, United States

🇺🇸 Windsor is a home rule municipality in Larimer and Weld counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Windsor is located in the region known as Northern Colorado. Windsor is situated 59 miles (95 km) north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.

History In 1873, a settler named J.L. Hilton built a small house situated half-way between Greeley and Fort Collins. The “half-way” house, as it became known, directed travelers along a route, which was soon adopted by the Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific railway. The railroad brought investors and farmers to Windsor in increasing numbers. Windsor's rich alluvial plains lent themselves to extensive wheat production and the establishment of one of the town's first commercial enterprises, a flour mill, which through a subsequent fire in 1899, was rebuilt and became the Windsor Milling and Elevator Company.

A rich wheat farming district, the area around Windsor first drew permanent residents in the early 1870s. Two factors were to play a critical role in stimulating Windsor's early development: irrigation and the railroad. Irrigation increased crop variety and production and the railroad shipped this bounty to market. The town was platted in 1882, the same year the Windsor Railroad Depot was built, and incorporated in 1890. It was named for the Rev. Samuel Asa Windsor. By 1900, tariffs on foreign sugar had created a market for new sources of sugar. Research in the improved cultivation of sugar beets was taking place at Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins, and the capital to advance production and manufacture of beet sugar was coming together. In 1903 a factory for producing sugar from sugar beets was built in Windsor. Sugar beet cultivation required large numbers of "stoop laborers", a need that was met by ethnic German immigrants from Russia. With large families and a strong work ethic, the German-Russians who settled in Windsor and other sugar beet areas would achieve financial success within one generation and own the highest producing beet farms. The Great Western Sugar Company fueled Windsor's economy through the mid-1960s, when the Windsor factory closed. Plentiful water and land drew Kodak to Windsor where it opened a manufacturing plant on the heels of the sugar factory's closing.

Kodak's opening spurred economic development in the town, and a population surge as the sugar beet factory closed. Later in the 1980s Metal Container Corporation (MCC) opened a can factory and Deline Box Company opened a factory, which closed in December 2010, that primarily served the Budweiser facility in Fort Collins, Colorado.

In the last two decades, its central location among the population centres of northern Colorado, together with its proximity to Interstate 25, have made it the site of rapid urban growth, particularly on the western edge of town, as it grows towards the interchange on I-25. In the 1990s, the town limits were westward into Larimer County. The incorporated town limits west of Interstate 25 are now contiguous with Loveland, and are separated from south-east Fort Collins by the Fossil Creek Open Space public lands of Larimer County acquired through a county-wide vote-approved sales tax.

In this century, there has been significant industrial development on the south-east side of town. Vestas has a wind turbine factory, and several related companies, Hexcel and Ice Energy have headquarters in Windsor. Owens Illinois has a glass factory that primarily serves the Budweiser facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. Windsor has also attracted digital services providers in recent years, such as farm management software provider Agworld whose North American headquarters is based here.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.6 square miles (66 km²), of which, 24.33 square miles (63.0 km²) of it is land and 1.27 square miles (3.3 km²) of it is water. The Cache la Poudre River runs through the west and south sides of town.

The main business district of town is east-west, along State Highway 392, which also serves as Windsor's Main Street. The BNSF line runs north of Main Street. The historic early grid of the town extends for roughly six blocks north and south of Main, and less than 10 blocks east and west, with a vibrant square green, called Main Park south-east of downtown. The park is surrounded by residences, and by the Town Hall (formerly Park School), at the north end.

Commercial development extends to the Water Valley development, along State Highway 257, near the intersection with Windsor Lake, a small reservoir in the irrigation system of Weld County, is one block north of the BNSF tracks. The lake is a popular spot for fishing. In the last decade, a 2.25 mile bike path was completed which circumscribes the lake. In addition to this reservoir, there are a number of other lakes and reservoirs that are former gravel mines along the Cache la Poudre river. These lakes have spurred housing developments and a golf course along their banks.

The Poudre Trail bicycle and pedestrian trail along the north bank of the Poudre includes a segment within the town of Windsor that connects the town with the City of Greeley.

Arts and culture The town hosts a Summer Concert Series at the lakeside Boardwalk Park, accompanied by food vendors and a beer garden serving locally brewed beer.

A Harvest Festival takes place on the Labor Day weekend, and includes a parade, carnival, concerts, a hot air balloon festival, and home and garden fair.

Museums The Windsor Art and Heritage Center hosts a variety of art shows throughout the year, and provides opportunities for the community to participate in art and cultural programs for all ages.

The Boardwalk Park Museum contains seven original historical buildings, including a train depot with caboose and freight car, schoolhouse and teacher's quarters, farmhouse with summer kitchen, and a beet shanty and prayer meeting house.

The Windsor Community Playhouse, founded in 1981, produces theatrical productions.

The Windsor Severance Fire Rescue Museum houses displays of the history of Windsor Fire Department, established in 1902. The fire department was dissolved as a division of the Town of Windsor and re-organized in 1950 as the Windsor Severance Fire Protection District (now Windsor Severance Fire Rescue).

Sports The Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC is an American professional soccer team which made its debut in 2022. The team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid, and is owned by the Katofsky family and the Future Legends ownership group.

The Northern Colorado Owlz baseball team of the Pioneer League relocated to Windsor and will begin their first season at Future Legends Complex in 2022.

The Colorado Eagles hockey team of the American Hockey League is located in Windsor and is owned by Martin Lind.

Parks and recreation The town has 25 developed and undeveloped parks, totaling over 200 acres (81 ha).

Main Park features pickleball courts, basketball courts, sand volleyball courts, a playground and several picnic shelters.

Boardwalk Park is adjacent to Windsor Lake, and features a barrier-free wheelchair-accessible playground, picnic shelters, swim beach, boating, fishing, and a 2.25 mi (3.62 km) trail.

Chimney Park features athletic fields, baseball diamonds and an outdoor swimming pool, and includes property that was part of the Great Western Sugar factory.

Eastman Park, adjacent to the Cache la Poudre River, features a skate park, picnic shelters, athletic fields, trails, playground, and off-leash dog park. Diamond Valley features baseball and softball diamonds. The Windsor Community Recreation Center offers classes, events, athletic leagues, senior recreation, and adaptive recreation.

Media The Windsor Ledger newspaper began publishing in 1898. It became the Poudre Valley in 1902, and the Windsor Beacon in 1946.

Windsor is home to TownSquare Media offices, as well as KUAD-FM 99.1 is a country music station.