Leader, Colorado
Hamlet in Colorado, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leader is a populated place in Adams County, Colorado, in the United States.[1] Leader was once the site of a post office, school, and the Leader Community Hall.
Geography
Leader is located at 39°53′58″N 104°03′23″W (39.8994277,-104.056341667),[1] 12 miles northeast of Byers.[2]
History
The Leader post office began operations in 1910 and ceased operating in 1940.[3]
A chapter of the Colorado Grange was organized in Leader in 1916, founded by area resident J. F. Girardot. The grange in Leader was known as United Farmers #288.[4] In the early years, Leader was noted for its prairie dogs and ground squirrels; the latter were said to be highly destructive to corn, peanut, and bean crops in Leader.[5]
Leader Community Hall was built in the 1940s, and served as a gathering spot for community events,[6] and as a polling site for that part of Adams County.[7][8][9][10] Leader Hall was still being used in the 1970s, with the women forming the Leader Community Hall Ladies auxiliary.[11]
Leader's population was 19 in 1940.[12]
Oil drilling near Leader occurred in the 1950s, with the discovery of what the Brush, Colorado News-Tribune called "major" new oil reserves in the Leader area. Drilling commenced at the 2,000 acres (810 ha) Burkhart Ranch in 1954.[13]
The Leader School, a one-room schoolhouse, operated until 1956, when Adams County's schools were consolidated; students were afterwards bused to Byers, 12 miles to the south in Arapahoe County.[6]