Immigration > United States > Colorado
Colorado
In 1887, Evangelical Volga Germans from Sutton and Lincoln, Nebraska, came to Denver, Colorado, as workers; they founded a colony that would grow into a significant settlement over the next twelve years. By 1930, about 500 families from Norka, Beideck, Dobrinka, and other Volga German colonies lived in the Denver suburb of Globeville and on an adjacent hill to the east, known by the settlers as "Dobrinka."
The migration of the Volga Germans to Colorado is connected to the development of the sugar beet industry, which sent their agents to Nebraska and Kansas to recruit cheap labor (families with many children were preferred). The Volga Germans had already established themselves as successful farmers and were prime targets for the sugar beet industry recruiters. Sugar refineries were built in 1900 in Sugar City and Rocky Ford. In 1902 and 1903, sugar companies in Loveland and Ft. Collins brought Volga German laborers.
Colonists from Norka were the first to settle in Windsor, arriving in 1902. A small dwelling owned by one of this group served as the chapel for the first pioneers. This group was joined by another group of Volga Germans from Dönhof in 1904, and by 1930, about 900 Volga German families lived in Windsor and the surrounding area. Most were working as beet farmers and field workers.
From the beginning, those who responded to the recruiters aimed to obtain their own land and become self-sufficient farmers. They rapidly went from living in tents to building houses and purchasing farms.
By 1910, about 75 percent of all the sugar beet farms between Sterling and Denver were operated by Volga Germans. By the 1930s, more than one-half of the sugar beet farms in Colorado, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming were owned by Volga German farmers.
The migration of the Volga Germans to Colorado is connected to the development of the sugar beet industry, which sent their agents to Nebraska and Kansas to recruit cheap labor (families with many children were preferred). The Volga Germans had already established themselves as successful farmers and were prime targets for the sugar beet industry recruiters. Sugar refineries were built in 1900 in Sugar City and Rocky Ford. In 1902 and 1903, sugar companies in Loveland and Ft. Collins brought Volga German laborers.
Colonists from Norka were the first to settle in Windsor, arriving in 1902. A small dwelling owned by one of this group served as the chapel for the first pioneers. This group was joined by another group of Volga Germans from Dönhof in 1904, and by 1930, about 900 Volga German families lived in Windsor and the surrounding area. Most were working as beet farmers and field workers.
From the beginning, those who responded to the recruiters aimed to obtain their own land and become self-sufficient farmers. They rapidly went from living in tents to building houses and purchasing farms.
By 1910, about 75 percent of all the sugar beet farms between Sterling and Denver were operated by Volga Germans. By the 1930s, more than one-half of the sugar beet farms in Colorado, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming were owned by Volga German farmers.
Sources
Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlements in the United States. Fargo: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974. 49-51. Print.
Thomas, Adam. Work Renders Life Sweet: Germans from Russian in Fort Collins, 1900-2000. August 2003.
Thomas, Adam. Work Renders Life Sweet: Germans from Russian in Fort Collins, 1900-2000. August 2003.
Last updated December 7, 2023