Fort Collins, CO is an American city situated next to the Rocky Mountains. In July 2009, Fort Collins had a population of 140,600. The city was initially founded in 1864 as a U.S. Army base, and was incorporated as a residential community in 1873.

Fort Collins is the site of a Colorado State University campus. The city is part of Colorado's Poudre School District and has an award-winning public education system. It has four high schools and ten junior high schools, as well as several elementary schools.http://www.fcgov.com/visitor/fcfacts.php http://www.localschooldirectory.com/city-schools/Fort-Collins/CO

Several corporations have either headquarters or facilities in Fort Collins, including Hewlett Packard, Eastman Kodak, Agilent Technologies, and Anheuser Busch.http://www.fcchamber.org/Sub_snapshot.asp The city has a median family income of $81,624 and a 7.4% unemployment rate. It was listed at number six on CNNmoney.com's top 100 places to live.http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/snapshots/PL0827425.html

Fort Collins was first settled as an army base in 1864 after the original Camp Collins was destroyed by a flood. It was named for Army Colonel Collins, who suggested the site for a new camp. The fort was decommissioned in 1868, and area residents stayed on and built a settlement on the remains of the original military base. The city was incorporated in 1873, and began to grow economically with the arrival of the interstate railroad shortly thereafter.http://www.homesparadise.com/homes/colorado/fortcollins/

The city experienced increased growth after 1879, when the Colorado Agricultural and Mining college began building a campus there. The school name was changed to Colorado State University in 1956, and continues to expand.http://visit.ftcollins.com/visiting/history.php

Fort Collins is located 65 miles north of Denver, Colorado and 35 miles south of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The city is 5,000 feet above sea level; it is situated on the banks of the Powder River and at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.http://www.homesparadise.com/homes/colorado/fortcollins/ The surface area of the city is 53.38 square miles, and it has 492 miles of city streets.http://www.fcgov.com/visitor/fcfacts.php The city sits at latitude 40° 35' N and longitude 105° 5' W.http://www.travelmath.com/city/Fort+Collins,+CO

The city experiences an average of 300 days of sunshine and 14.5 inches of precipitation annually. Average high temperatures peak in July at approximately 86 degrees fahrenheit and bottom out in January at 14 degrees fahrenheit. Fort Collins has over 600 acres of parks and is largely surrounded by wilderness.http://www.fcgov.com/visitor/fcfacts.php

• Old Town historical district - A preserved neighborhood with 23 historic buildings, shops, and restaurantshttp://visit.ftcollins.com/visiting/oldTown.php

• Lincoln Center - A performing arts venue with music and theatrehttp://www.fcgov.com/lctix/box-office.php

• Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center - A science and nature education center with family events and activities.http://www.fcmdsc.org/plan/plan.html

• CSU Environmental Learning Center - A 200 acre nature preserve with trails, gardens, and guided hikes.http://visit.ftcollins.com/attractions/?p=1&t=13

• Byron Raymond White - jurist

• Jesse Johnson - professional football player

• Ryan Sutter - professional football player

• Jake Lloyd - actor http://law.jrank.org/pages/11297/White-Byron-Raymond.html <ref>http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnJe22.htm http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005157/ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SuttRy20.htm