In the 1960s, Auburn was a farming community with no general stores and no post office.[4] Many of the families were first, second, and third generation immigrants with German-Russian, Mexican, and Swedish heritage. Families attended Baptist, Catholic, and Congregational churches in Greeley, Gilcrest, and Platteville.[3]
On December 14, 1961, Union Pacific's "City of Denver" passenger train collided with a school bus, killing twenty children who were on board.[3] Sixteen children and the driver survived. The crash was the deadliest traffic accident in Colorado history.[5]
Education
The Auburn area is now within Weld County School District Six. As of 2008, residents are zoned to Bella Romero Academy of Applied Technology K-3 (formerly East Memorial Elementary, named for the school bus tragedy)[6] Bella Romero 4-8 Elementary School east of Greeley at the site of the former Delta Elementary School,[7] Heath Middle School in Greeley,[8] and Greeley West High School in Greeley.[9]
For many years, Auburn had a school district and a school at the northeast corner of Weld County Roads 47 and 54. A legislative study posted by the mid-1950s recommended reorganizing Colorado's school districts and declared school district reorganization as the state's main priority. Between 1956 and 1961, nearly 700 school districts closed, leaving 275 open. As a consequence, many small schools in Colorado began to close as a result of the district closures. The Auburn School District and the three-room school in Auburn closed, causing children to attend schools in Greeley beginning in 1961.[3][10] During that year children were assigned to Delta Elementary School, Meeker Junior High School, and Greeley High School.[3] The Auburn and Delta schools no longer exist.[11]
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