SPOTLIGHT ON HOLYOKE
Elevation: 3,750
Population: 2,261
Percentage 65 and over: 18.7 (national rate: 12.4)
Percentage Hispanic or Latino: 20.4 (national rate: 12.5)
Established: 1887; incorporated 1888
County: Phillips County seat; the county was created in 1889 from the southern part of Logan County
Name: Named for Holyoke, Mass.
Brief history: President and owner of the Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank, William E. Heginbotham, bought foreclosed farms during the 1930s. His bank was the only one of eight in the county to survive the Depression.
Heginbotham died in 1968 leaving his fortune of $4.2 million in trust to the citizens of Phillips County. The terms of his will stipulated that interest from the trust may be used only for the betterment and improvement of the county. The money has been used to fund health care equipment and facilities, tennis courts, swimming pools, an auditorium, schools and firefighting equipment.
His home, a bungalow built in 1919, is now the Heginbotham Public Library and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Other historic buildings: The 1927 Reimer-Smith Oil Station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, is an example of the 1920s era “house with canopy” type of gas station. The building was saved from demolition in 1998 by members of the Phillips County Historical Society.
The Sawyer House/Sears Hotel (Burge Hotel) was listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties in 1995. The hotel, originally built in 1887 with additions added later to accommodate more business, represents the commercial development of Holyoke.
Economy: The economy is primarily based on hog farming, cattle and growing wheat, corn, beans, popcorn, alfalfa and sugar beets.
Attractions: Dandelion Daze and Rod Run, this Friday and Saturday, will include street rods and choppers, cruise-in, burnout competition and a poker run. Holyoke is home to the Phillips County Historical Society Museum and the County Fair, which will take place July 26-30. A group of residents are in the process of developing a Route 6 Museum.
Sources: Holyoke Chamber of Commerce; Northeast Colorado Tourism; city of Holyoke; “1001 Colorado Places Names,” by Maxine Benson; “Colorado Place Names” by William Bright; U.S. Census Bureau; Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation; Phillips County Economic Development Corp.; Denver Post archives
REGIONAL NOTES
FORT COLLINS
Transportation summit today
The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization is hosting a transportation summit for northern Colorado from 7 to 11 a.m. today at the Windsor Community Recreation Center, 250 N. 11th St. in Windsor. For more information, call 800-332-0950, ext. 4, or visit www.nfrsummit.com.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Update set on West Quincy study
An open house is planned at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School, 10359 Nassau Ave., from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. today to update residents on a study of the West Quincy Avenue corridor from South Eldridge Street to South Carr Court.
For information, call consultant Chuck Dreesen, 303-798-9445, or Brad Bauer with Jefferson County, 303-271-8495.
