Fort Collins is a municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River within Colorado. This Home Rule Municipality is situated along the Colorado Front Range. It is the county seat of Larimer County as well as being the most densely inhabited city of the county as well. The 2010 census listed the populations as approximately 143,900 making it the 4th most populous city within Colorado. The city of Fort Collins is situated 92km or 57 miles north of the city of Denver, Colorado's state capital.
Fort Collins is nestled along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 55 miles northeast of Boulder, Colorado. Colorado State University or also called CSU, is situated within Fort Collins as well, hence it is a largely populated college town.
Initially, the city started out as an army post like its name suggests. At first it was referred to as "Camp Collins," in honor of the commander of Ohio Cavalry troops who were based at Fort Laramie under Lt. Col. William O. Collins. During the year 1864, a devastating flood virtually destroyed the first army post. The present location of the city of Fort Collins was picked to be the location of the new military operation. The new post was called Fort Collins. During 1867, the fort was decommissioned but a new town still emerged. During the year 1873, the new township of Fort Collins was incorporated officially.
With the opening of the Colorado Agricultural College, it sparked an new accomplishment milestone six years after that. This would eventually become Colorado State University. Initially founded as the only land grant institution within Colorado, CSU has become a significant part of the city's recreation and culture as well as being the biggest employer within the city of Fort Collins.
There is a balanced economy within Fort Collins along with a really educated workforce. The manufacturing base consists of companies like Hewlett Packard, Water Pik, Woodward and Anheuser-Busch. The research facilities and resources at CSU have attracted various hi-tech businesses to the region. There are offices for Intel, Avago, LSI, AMD, Pelco and national Semi-Conductor located in the city of Fort Collins. Furthermore, clean energy and agri-tech businesses are also part of the economy.
There are different businesses in the city who manufacture goods like for example aircraft parts, scientific instruments, industrial chemicals, measuring and collecting instruments, communications equipment, solar technology, turbines, bio fuels and Smart Grid technology.
Within the city of Fort Collins, the major non-agricultural sectors for employment include Healthcare, Transportation and Utilities, Education, Government, Professional and Business Services, Trade, Manufacturing, Leisure and Hospitality.
At the turn of the century, the biggest businesses in Fort Collins were: Poudre Valley Health System, CSU, Avago Technologies, Hewlett Packard, Larimer County, Agilent, City of Fort Collins, Poudre School District, Eastman Kodak, and CO.