Ault

Ault is a statutory town located in Weld County, Colorado, United States The town population was 1,887 at the 2020 United States Census, a +24.23% increase since the 2010 United States Census. Ault is a part of the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.

History

First called High Land, the town's name was changed to Burgdorff Siding, sometimes called Bergdorf Switch (after a railroad worker, who was deceased in an accident), before it acquired its current name in 1897. The town was named after Alexander Ault, a Fort Collins, Colorado resident and owner of a flour mill. Mr. Ault had helped to avert financial disaster to the agricultural base by purchasing the entire grain harvest during a year of severe economic hardship. The town was incorporated in 1904. Much of the residential area of the town, as well as surrounding farmland, is on land given by the United States government to the Union Pacific Railroad, to be sold to finance railroad construction. A north–south segment of the railroad connecting Denver, Colorado, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, passes through the town, parallel to U.S. Highway 85. On February 21, 1910, Rabbi I. Idleson of Denver, Colorado, purchased 640 acres for farming purposes near Ault, proposing "to employ Jewish farmers and devote land to practical philanthropy". Little came of this venture, and within a few decades there were apparently no Jewish residents in the town. Ault Public Emergency Radio Tower, a former emergency transmission facility, was located here.

Geography

Ault is located at 40°35′2″N 104°44′1″W at the intersection of U.S. Highway 85 and State Highway 14. At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 1,106 acres , all of it land.

Comment

Ault is actually a charming small town with the vast majority being a series of homes that appear to have been built in the last 60 years. However a town that has been around for over 125 years and has had 3 names it also has a few colorful locations whose moments may have passed.