2008-04-30 – Fort Collins Now – Louis Dauth Life Story ⧉

The most recent publication of Louis Dauth's life story. ⧉

I will not be undersold, declares and 1886 advertisement in the Fort Collins Courier place there by Louis Dauth whose bakery also sold a wide variety of useful items. In his store shoppers could find such sundries as combs, pipes and Mason jars, as well as beverages. "Any cut price made by my competitors will be met every time," reads the ad. Coming to Fort Collins in 1877 after serving in the Franco-Prussian War, Dauth first entered into partnership with M. M. Zimmerman in a shop next door to Stover’s drug store on Linden Street. The partnership dissolved a year later, each man going into business on his own. One might well speculate that Dauth’s fiercest competitor was his former partner (and vice versa) – though there’s no hard evidence of that. True to his word., Louis’ Pioneer Bakery offered 20 loaves of bread for only $1, while Zimmerman offered 14 loaves for the same price, according to the Triangle Review newspaper. Dauth dabbled in politics, running for alderman on the “high license” ticket- meaning he approved of hefty license fees for saloons to discourage the proliferation of such businesses. He won. Dauth’s business strategy was apparently successful, for the merchant, known around town as “the Dutchman” (even though he was from Germany), soon expanded his stock to include books, cutlery, produce and tobacco and built his own store on Linden Street. He operated his Fort Collins store until 1887, when he moved to Denver for reason unknown to posterity, although the move may have had something to do with one of his brothers. Two younger brothers and a sister had emigrated to America about the same time Louis came, the brothers leaving Germany before they reached draft age. One brother, George, was killed by a train wile living in Greeley. One of the last survivors of the Franco-Prussian war- and one of the first businessmen in Fort Collin- Louis Dauth died in Denver in 1944, age 92. ⧉