The Laporte site is the most comprehensive source of information about Ft Collins, Colorado. Our features include Laporte events  Laporte movies, entertainment, Laporte area restaurants and shopping information and news. Along with About Loveland.com and About Greeley.com we cover the entire Northern Colorado area. See links at left. We also have a Internet Shopping Mall featuring most of the major retailers in America. Link A new feature is around Ft Collins in pictures. Also check out some Loveland pictures

Laporte Colorado is located 12 miles West of Ft Collins. The 2000 census stated a population of 2,691. The estimate in 20055 is approximately 3,000.

Laporte was named by French Canadian trappers who with their Native American wives settled here in the 1850's. Laporte means "the door" in French. Laporte is located at the door of the Cache La Poudre Canyon which is the home of the river by the same name. The river too was named by these same trappers who earned their lively hood by trapping the canyon and surrounding areas. The river and the canyon's name comes from the legend that the trappers hid powder somewhere between Laporte and the high canyon and that is where the name "cache of powder" comes from. Read more here.

Laporte was one of the earliest established towns in the area. In November of 1861 Laporte was designated as the county seat. In that same year as Laporte was a thriving community Camp Collins was established. Camp Collins later became Ft. Collins.

In 1862 Laporte opened it's post office and established an Overland Trail stage stop. In 1861 Laporte lost the race to become the state capital by one vote. Laporte lost out to Denver, the present state capital. The demise of Laporte as a major center of the area came in 1864 when  much of the town and it's fort were destroyed in a flood. The army relocated downstream in Ft. Collins.