This tour tells the fascinating story of some the earliest settlers in the Cache la Poudre River valley, how they came to be associated with the founding of the fledgling community of Fort Collins, and where the settlement occurred along the Poudre corridor.
Guests will be able to see Auntie Stone's cabin and learn about the Euro-American settlement here in 1859 and the U.S. Army, serving a protective role for civilians.
Guests will enjoy a 10 minute walk to see the remains of the Strauss cabin, situated along the Cache la Poudre River.
Harmony Mill, Fort Collins - Constructed in 1886, the “Farmers Protective Association Harmony Mills” was located just across the Greeley, Salt Lake & Pacific RR tracks from its rival, the Lindell Mill, which was the original such operation in the Poudre valley. It is a handsomely restored four-story brick building that represents the early grain refining industry in Fort Collins.
WOW! What a great tour. The tour guide Mark is engaging, knowledgeable and humorous. He really knows the area and has visual aides and maps so that you can really get the lay of the land. Pricing was economical. Tour length was perfect. Highly recommend this for all ages.
Tour let us see original settlement homes and terrain. Guide very congenial and informative.
Mark was great. He is passionate about history and knows a lot! We saw some interesting old sites and buildings from the early to mid 1800’s
I would recommend this tour to everyone. Our guide had so much information to share. Although I have visited & spent time in the area, i was pleasantly surprised at what i learned!
We took the tour with Mark today and it was awesome!!!!!!! You can tell Mark loves telling the stories about the early settlers in Laporte and beyond. We loved his enthusiasm and wanting to give as close to true history as he could. If you love history this is the tour for you.
Mark was excellent! He know his history and answered our many questions along the way! Informative and fun! We would highly recommend this tour
Mark was our guide for "In the Footsteps of the Explorers" history tour in Fort Collins. He was very knowledgeable; answered all our questions. Highly recommend.
I’ve visited Fort Collins many times over the years to visit family snd friends, and usually have just a couple of days, this time I have several weeks and decided to dive deeper and try to learn more about the area. Mark’s history tour was great, he chose a few really interesting people from the area’s past and gave us an in-depth look at the stories behind some of the place names that are so familiar here. His love for history really makes his stories interesting and the characters come alive. His maps, artifacts and photos really add a lot to the authenticity of the tour. Thank you Mark!
Marc was a wonderful guide to the early beginnings of the Cache de Poudre valley. He was informed, charming, and clearly communicated his love for the area that he was guiding us through. Not only did he continually narrate the history and the features of the natural environment we were seeing, he also provided us with a map of the area to use that highlighted the important locations he was discussing and showed us many artifacts and documents from the time periods he was focusing on. He even dressed in clothing of the era and mastered the special handwriting of the time period to prepare a journal with quotes from area notables. Thank you, Marc, for an enjoyable and informative morning.
It was an amazing and extremely informative tour. Mark was incredible and super knowledgeable in the history of this area. He brought artifacts along and shared an incredible amount of information. From start to finish he was cognizant of our needs and so polite. If you love history and want to learn about Fort Collins- I highly recommend this tour!
Delightful, insightful and informational! Thank you Mark for a wonderful morning and a Happy Birthday for our Mother :) Cynthia
I took my father on a tour for father’s day. Mark is a wonderful tour guide who really enjoys what he does. It was a wonderful experience. The tour sparked us to go home and look up information.
Unique tour in an area where I was bombarded with beer tours. Mark is passionate, knowledgeable and fun. Highly recommended.
As a history major, Mark was well-qualified to lead this tour. He took us to several sites in the early history of Fort Collins and shared many details of the early days here. He offered several maps and photos to help us understand the people and their times. He welcomed questions, and we finished the tour with a better grounding of the area and its history. Thank you, Mark, for an enlightening afternoon!
Someone once said that history is who we are and why we are the way we are. Mark Serour knows this better than anyone. On his "Early Settlement" tour yesterday Mark made history come alive for us. He is extremely knowledgeable of local Ft. Collins history, Colorado history, and national history and presents historical events in a helpful, easy-to-understand frame of reference. Mark is also warm, friendly and a lot of fun. We highly recommend Mark Serour!
We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Mark and Wendy were the best. We are all seniors and they made sure we were comfortable and planned the tour to please us. (The four of us were the only tourists) Mark was a wealth of information. It was a great 2 hours.
Our guide Mark was fantastic-very knowledgeable, accommodating, and friendly. This was a very interesting tour including stories of early settlers, cultural, economic, and agricultural development of the area providing a fascinating picture of America’s westward expansion. And the stories he told left me wanting to learn more! Plus we enjoyed some beautiful scenery around the Cache laPoudre River. Mark also had a wonderful scrapbook with historical photos, maps, and a journal including quotes from the journals or letters of pioneers and settlers. History buffs and curious people will love this tour!
Our tour guide, Mark, was attired in authentic period clothing from hat to boots. He was enthusiastic and passionate about Ft. Collins' history and was comprehensively versed to answer every question we threw at him. Our time with him was not only informative, but was extremely enjoyable. We highly recommend this company's tours.
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
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