Logan County • Colorado Eastern Plains

Atwood, Colorado

A small South Platte Valley community with roots in an 1885 townsite, railroad-era growth, irrigated agriculture and the working landscape of northeastern Colorado.

Why Atwood Belongs on the Colorado A–Z

A Small Plains Community With a Big Agricultural Story

Atwood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place southwest of Sterling. Its recorded townsite dates to 1885, when Victor P. Wilson helped establish the community and brought settlers from Kansas. The town was named for the Reverend John S. Atwood, a Unitarian minister. Atwood later competed to become the Logan County seat, but Sterling was selected when the county was organized in 1887.

1885Townsite platted

1887Logan County established

1928Community near its early peak

1382020 CDP population

Meet Atwood

Agriculture, Railroad Roots & Eastern Plains Life

Atwood developed along the transportation and agricultural corridors of the South Platte Valley. Its history includes railroad service, grain, livestock, sugar beets, local commerce and the small businesses that continue to serve rural northeastern Colorado.

This is a working Colorado community rather than a manufactured tourist destination—and that is part of what makes it worth knowing.

Local History

From an 1885 Townsite to an Agricultural Community

Logan County historical sources record that Atwood was platted in 1885. The community hoped to become the seat of newly created Logan County in 1887 and even prepared a courthouse foundation. Sterling won the county-seat contest; local history records that the foundation was instead used for the Atwood School.

By 1928 Atwood supported a surprisingly broad range of businesses and services, including doctors, mercantile stores, lumber yards, a grain elevator, garage, hotel, depot, telephone exchange, churches, a sugar-beet dump and a pickle receiving station. Agriculture remained central: historic accounts describe dairying, cattle and sheep feeding, hay production and sugar-beet growing around Atwood.

The community also has a lesser-known immigration story. Historical research documents a late-19th-century agricultural colony of Jewish immigrants from Russia in the Atwood area, part of wider efforts to establish farming colonies on the Plains.

What Atwood Is Known For

Atwood represents the working agricultural history of Colorado's South Platte Valley. Its story is tied to settlement, rail transportation, irrigation, sugar beets, grain, livestock and the small enterprises that support rural life.

Atwood Character

Symbols That Tell the Story

🌾 Agriculture

Farming and livestock shaped Atwood's economy from its early decades and remain fundamental to the surrounding landscape.

🚂 Railroad Heritage

Rail service connected Atwood to regional markets and helped support the town's early commercial growth.

🏛️ County-Seat Story

Atwood once hoped to become Logan County's seat. Sterling ultimately won the designation in 1887.

🧱 Atwood Mercantile

The old Atwood Mercantile at 5th Street and U.S. 6 is identified by local tourism history as one of the community's historic buildings.

🌊 South Platte Valley

The nearby South Platte River corridor supports agriculture, riparian habitat and wildlife across this part of Logan County.

📰 Atwood Advocate

The Atwood Advocate began publication in October 1885 and later moved to Sterling as the Logan County Advocate.

Eat • Work • Support Local

Local Businesses in Atwood

Atwood is small, so its business community reflects practical Eastern Plains life: food, agriculture, fabrication, repair and rural services.

Local Food Stop

Burrito Barn

A made-to-order food counter serving travelers and locals near the I-76/Colorado 63 corridor.

Address: 4513 CO-63 Suite B, Atwood, CO 80722
Phone: (970) 571-5945

Welding & Fabrication

Noah's Arc Welding LLC

A locally based welding and metal-fabrication business offering shop and on-site services for repairs and custom metalwork.

Address: 17193 County Road 16, Atwood, CO 80722
Phone: (970) 520-4581

Manufacturing

Rylind Manufacturing Inc.

An Atwood manufacturer and fabrication shop producing heavy-equipment attachments and related products.

Address: 16178 Front Ave, Atwood, CO 80722
Phone: (970) 522-2859

Auto Repair

Jerry's Muffler & Repair

A small local automotive repair shop serving Atwood and the surrounding Sterling-area community.

Address: 4344 CO-63, Atwood, CO 80722
Phone: (970) 522-8299

Pump & Well Services

Kuntz Pump & Well Supply

A rural water-system business serving residential and agricultural customers with well, pump and related services.

Address: 16210 Henry Ave, Atwood, CO 80722
Phone: (970) 522-2035

Agricultural Service

Hettinger Seed LLC

A small Atwood-area agricultural business serving the seed needs of the surrounding farming community.

Address: 15480 County Road 16.5, Atwood, CO 80722
Phone: (970) 520-8227

Explore

Places & Stories Around Atwood

Historic Atwood

Local history points visitors toward the old Atwood Mercantile at 5th Street and U.S. 6, the former Methodist Church area and other traces of the community's early townsite.

Atwood State Wildlife Area

A Colorado Parks and Wildlife property along the South Platte River corridor providing public wildlife habitat and regulated outdoor recreation. Check current CPW rules before visiting.

Area: County Road 29.5, Logan County

Early Logan County Settlement

A historical marker northeast of Atwood recalls Billy Hadfield, identified in Logan County tourism history as the county's first permanent resident, who settled in the area in 1841.

Atwood's Agricultural Landscape

The surrounding countryside tells much of Atwood's story through irrigated fields, farm operations and the broad South Platte Valley landscape.

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