Fremont Curtis was a house builder in Berthoud in the 1890s and early 1900s. Curtis

maintained his carpentry shop on East Mountain Avenue in a building that had been moved to the new town site from the Little Thompson river bottom when Berthoud was relocated in the winter of 1883-84. In the 1890s Curtis and an-other carpenter named Warren Mills competed

for business in Berthoud where there was more than enough work for both men to make a living by constructing residential dwellings and business buildings in the town and the sur-

rounding area. Fremont “S.F.” Curtis was born in

1856. The date of his arrival in the Berthoud is unknown, but in 1894 The Berthoud Bulletin reported that the building where Curtis operated a carpentry shop on East Mountain Avenue was being considered for the location of a creamery. The newspa-per also noted, “his work was been tested upon nearly every house of any note that has been built in this place since he came here ... He has estab-lished a reputation for good work and we need not say that he will give sat-isfaction for his work.”

In 1899 Curtis was employed by Dr. D.W. McCarty to build a two-room medical offi ce at 338 Massachusetts Ave. McCarty, who maintained an offi ce in the rear of the Foresman & McCarty drugstore on Third Street. that he operated with his partner Harley Foresman, soon added rooms to the back of the build-ing that is still standing. The new offi ce, which was built at a cost of

$1,000, was convenient for McCarty because it was only a few steps down the street from his living quarters at the Grandview Hotel (present-day City Apartments).

That year Curtis also built homes in the countryside for Fred Bein, Charles Meining, Leonard Kelly and a farmer named Dyer who lived three miles northeast of Berthoud. In 1899 Curtis also constructed a home on North Fifth Street in Berthoud for local wagon maker Sam Lutener. Lutener’s wagon shop was located at the northeast corner of Second Street and Mountain Avenue.

The year 1900 found Curtis in the employment of J.W. Preston who hired him to build a large machine shop at the southwest corner of the intersection of Second Street and Mountain Avenue. Preston also hired Curtis to construct his personal resi-dence at 649 Fifth St. In November 1900 The Berthoud Bulletin ob-served, “J.W. Preston’s family is now nicely settled in the new home corner

of 5th street and Turner avenue. The house is a frame one, two-story, con-taining eight rooms, and was erected at a cost of about $1,000, S.F. Curtis being the contractor. The interior is very conveniently planned, and the exterior has a pleasing appearance.”

In 1901 Curtis built a barn at the Robert Kahler farm in the Sunnyside district northeast of Berthoud and a 14x18-foot addition to the Harley Foresman house at 526 Fifth St. In June of that year Curtis and a part-ner by the name of J.S. Ray devel-oped a brickyard on the 10-acre tract where Curtis lived at the north end of

Berthoud. On June 4, 1902, Curtis died at

the age of 45. While the cause of his death is unknown, it is certain that he left behind his 33-year-old wife, Mary, and four young children.

Curtis was undoubtedly responsi-ble for the construction of more build-ings in Berthoud and the surrounding rural area than the local newspaper ever chronicled. The Bein, Meining, Lutener and Preston dwellings still stand as testament to his craftsman-ship and a life cut short for reasons unknown.

Berthoud Weekly Surveyor June 27, 2013 Page 5

A LOOK AT BERTHOUD

The historical society and Mark French are interested in obtaining and copying old photos from Berthoud’s past. Please contact Mark at 532-2147 if you have any photos you would like to share.

Surveyor Columnist

Mark French

Photo courtesy of Berthoud Historical SocietyFremont Curtis built the home at the southwest corner of Fifth Street and Turner Avenue for J.W. Preston in 1900. That year Curtis also constructed a ma-chine shop for Preston at the southwest corner of Second Street and Mountain Avenue.

Photo courtesy of Berthoud Historical SocietyFremont Curtis built the home at the southwest corner of Fifth Street and

Larimer Health Dept. vaccinating for measlesSpecial to the Surveyor

In response to the confi rmation of two cases of measles in Denver, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is sup-plying extra MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella) to county health de-partments as part of a public health response to control the spread of the disease.

“With a second case of measles with fairly wide exposure, there could be additional cases that could spread to and within our commu-nities,” said Nancy Tippin, RN, supervisor of the Larimer County Health Department’s Immunization Program. “Measles can be prevented by the MMR vaccine. This is an important time to check your im-munization records to be sure you and your family are up-to-date and protected.”

MMR vaccines will be available at the health department’s immu-nization clinics in Loveland and Fort Collins. Vaccine is available for

adults and children who do not have a history of having had measles or two doses of MMR. Most people born before 1957 are considered immune.

Cost of the vaccine is $20 regard-less of insurance status during this time, and payment will be required at the time of service, but no one will be turned away if unable to pay the full price. You can also receive MMR from your primary care provider; check with your doctor for cost and availability.

Measles virus is a highly conta-gious respiratory disease caused by a virus that spreads when a person sneezes or coughs. It can cause

complications including pneu-monia and en-cephalitis (brain infl ammation). In unvacci-nated pregnant women, measles also can cause miscarriage or

premature birth. Symptoms include:Fever, cough, runny nose, red,

watery eyes, and a rash that usu-ally begins two to four days after the onset of other symptoms and starts on a person’s face at the hairline and then spreads downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet.

Measles is still common in other countries, and the potential still ex-ists for outbreaks in the U.S.

For information about the Larimer County Health Department’s Immunization Program, including hours and loca-tions, visit www.larimer.org/health.

For more information about mea-sles: CO-HELP at 1-877-462-2911 or 303-389-1687, www.cdc.gov/measles.

Fremont Curtis built homes in Berthoud at turn of century