1908 Map of Loveland

About this map

Agricultural development and extensive water management define this early 20th-century landscape at the foot of the Roosevelt National Forest. The growing settlement of Loveland serves as a hub for both the Colorado and Southern and the Great Western R R lines, which supported the region's burgeoning sugar beet and plaster industries. To the west, the terrain rises sharply toward Flatiron Mtn and Green Ridge, while the eastern plains are a complex grid of irrigation ditches and man-made basins. Notable industrial markers like the Plaster Mill near Arkins and the Filter Bed near Loveland Canyon highlight the infrastructure required for settlement. Water storage is ubiquitous, from the large Fossil Creek Reservoir to smaller basins like Cemetery Lake and Lonetree Reservoir, illustrating the massive engineering effort to harness the Big Thompson River for farming.