In 1894, David E. Severance applied for a U. S. post office to serve about 50 families for a Weld County community to be named Tailholt. However, because Mr. Severance put his name on the form for the post office, the town was erroneously named Severance and just stayed that way. Mail for Severance was carried to and from Eaton, then later from Windsor, by horse and buggy.
A promotion began in the early 1900s to persuade farmers to raise sugar beets to secure a sugar factory that would be built in neighboring Windsor. The necessary acreage was pledged, and the Windsor factory was built in 1903, becoming the Great Western Sugar Co. in 1905. Then Severance became a sugar beet receiving station and dump on the Great Western Railway, operating until 1985.
The town of Severance was founded by Bruce Eaton, the son of Gov. Benjamin Eaton in 1906, and by 1920, the town had enough residents to incorporate, with 40 votes for incorporation and none against.
Excerpt from Weld County Towns: The First 150 Years
Edited by Nancy Lynch, former Curator of Exhibits
J. H. Kester Hardware store in Severance.
COGM~1971.02.0056