John C. Mathews was a native of Missouri who settled in Laporte in 1866, where he taught the first public school in the town. He also served as county jailer and deputy clerk. Along with A. H. Patterson, Mathews operated a mercantile business in Fort Collins. When Patterson left the firm, William C. Stover joined Mathews as a partner until 1876, when Mathews sold his interest to Stover. Mathews was also a founding member of North Fork Ditch Company in 1878 (later the North Poudre Irrigation Company). He is perhaps best known for his donation of eighty acres of land to the state of Colorado for the founding of an Agricultural College (now Colorado State University). He later served on board of trustees for the Agricultural College. Mathews died on November 9, 1897 in Fort Collins.

 

Citations:

-Ansel Watrous. History of Larimer County Colorado. The Old Army Press, 1911. pp. 272-273.