Place Information
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Laporte (also spelled LaPorte) is an unincorporated town, a U.S. Census Bureau Census Designated Place (CDP), and a U.S. Post Office located in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The CDP population was 2,691 at the U.S. Census 2000. The Laporte Post Office has the ZIP Code 80535. The town is located on the Cache La Poudre River northwest of Fort Collins, near the place where the river emerges from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. History
The name la porte means the door in French. The town was named by French-Canadian fur trappers, many with Native American wives, who settled in the area in the mid-19th century. According to legend, a group of fur traders had earlier stashed supplies (including gunpowder) in a cache along the river near Laporte, and that is how the river got its name.
In November 1861, the territorial legislature designated Laporte as the county seat. In 1862 the first post office opened, and a stage stop was built on the Overland Trail. That same year Camp Collins was established by the U.S. Army along the river to protect the stage line from attack by Native Americans. Also that same year, the Laporte Townsite Company claimed 1,280 acres (5 km²) of land for the town. The army post was destroyed in a flood 1864, prompting the army to relocate the post downstream to a location in present-day Fort Collins. In 1881, a state election was held to determine the location of the state capital. Denver won over Laporte by one vote. Research Tips
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