Great Western Sugar Factory

Listed: 2016

Constructed: 1916

Threat: Demolition

Closest Town to Resource: Brighton

Significance: The Brighton Board of Trade met on March 9, 1903, to consider securing a sugar beet factory for Adams County. The Great Western Sugar Company began construction in Brighton for its ninth Colorado beet sugar processing factory on Sept 15, 1916. The factory was often billed as the company’s showcase factory, with state equipment and beautiful landscaping. This factory site is one of only six Great Western Sugar Company factories that remain in the United States. In 2017, the main factory with a tall smokestack was demolished, as shown in the top photo, but the silos and administrative office building have been preserved as operations continue.

Update: In 2017, the main factory building was demolished, and explosives brought down the smoke stack as much of the iconic structure was lost. Through the Endangered Places listing, however, seven of the remaining ten buildings and structures remain. Before demolition, documentation through photography, oral histories, and a comprehensive historical report, including the factory layout and refinery process, was realized.