All Aboard for the 2022 Pioneer Heritage Gala on August 20th!

At last, the Berthoud Historical Society’s annual fundraiser is back on track.

Put Saturday, August 20, on your calendars and join us at this year’s gala.

Help celebrate the important railroad heritage of Berthoud. If it wasn’t for Capt. E.L. Berthoud, engineer and surveyor of the Colorado Central Railroad, our little town could still be a fledgling settlement on the banks of the Little Thompson River. Because E.L. Berthoud’s route for the railroad crossed the Little Thompson (where the train trestle crosses it now), the settlement began to grow. Once the Colorado Central made it clear that their trains would no longer stop at the river bottom because their locomotives couldn’t pull a fully loaded freight train up the grade, the town agreed to move and literally slid buildings up the incline during the winter of 1883-84 to the bluff to where Berthoud is growing today.

Over the past century and a half, the Colorado Central was acquired by the Colorado & Southern who in turn was absorbed by the Burlington Northern Railway. In the 1996 the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern. The BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway) still pulls trains through town to this day.

Whether you choose to be a hobo, Harvey Girl, engineer, conductor, or if you want to don your own gala attire, it’ll be just the ticket for a fun evening at the McCarty-Fickel Home museum event lawn this coming August. See you there! More details in the next Berthoud History News newsletter.

We present two awards during the evening:

Pioneer Award

In honor of the individual or individuals who over the years have made a lasting contribution to preserving the history of Berthoud and Northern Colorado through the Berthoud Historical Society. Their contribution exemplifies the best in volunteering and giving, showing a lifetime of care and concern to preserve and convey our history to our community.

Heritage Award

In honor of the individual or individuals who in the last year have made a significant contribution to preserving the history of Berthoud and Northern Colorado through the Berthoud Historical Society. Whether through donations, time volunteering, or enabling actions of the Berthoud Historical Society, this award recognizes that each year we need people to step up to preserve and convey our history to our community.

In addition we have a silent and live auction.

Please note that this is a ticketed event only and spaces are limited, so be sure to purchase your ticket now!