Wattenberg

Wattenberg is an unincorporated community located in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The U.S. Post Office at Fort Lupton (ZIP code 80621) now serves Wattenburg postal addresses.

History

On the Denver-Laramie and Northwestern Railroad (DLNWRR) line southwest of Fort Lupton, Watterburg Station was constructed in 1908. The station and subsequent town were named by landowners, Caroline and Christian Wattenburg, for his father, Frederick Wattenburg. A plat and map were filed in Weld County for the new townsite of Wattenburg in 1909. Wattenburg became a Mexican beet worker’s settlement center. A post office was not established there, likely because of the town’s proximity to Brighton and Fort Lupton. In 1917 the DLNWRR was taken over by the sugar beet industry’s Great Western Railway line and a sugar beet dump was constructed in Wattenburg. The line was abandoned in 1947. Today Wattenberg is a place on the map because of the Wattenberg field, a major oil and gas field in Colorado, was discovered in 1970 by Amoco Production Company and is located in the Denver Basin, straddling the synclinal axis. It's known for producing from multiple formations, including the J Sandstone, Codell Sandstone, and Niobrara Formation, and is a significant contributor to Colorado's energy supply.

Geography

Wattenburg is located at 40°06′59″N 104°47′53″W with an elevation of 4938 feet.

Comment

Interesting to see what was once a town with some life now surrounded by exploration has changed in 100 years.