Flagler, Colorado

A Brief History of Flagler

Flagler’s historic buildings reveal how an eastern Colorado community served the surrounding cattle country and later developed essential local services. In the early twentieth century, Hotel Flagler provided lodging for cowboys working on nearby ranches. Dr. William McBride purchased the property in 1937 and converted it into a hospital, adding improvements that included an automatic hot-water heating system. The building later became known as the Flagler Municipal Building. Its changing uses—from lodging to health care and civic functions—preserve a tangible record of the town’s development and the ways residents adapted an established landmark to meet new community needs.