The Texas-Montana Cattle Trail, which began in 1866 in the panhandle area of Texas and continued north to the grazing lands of eastern Montana, followed a route that passed through the area along the banks of Beaver Creek in northeastern Colorado. Along this creek a supply point was established to service the trail crews; it came to be known as "Brush." By the time the 20th century came along in 1900, this small supply station on the cattle trail had grown to become an established community.

The railroad, pushing west from Omaha toward Denver, arrived in Brush in the spring of 1882 and in May of that year The Lincoln Land Company filed a plat for 960 acres of land and laid out the Town of Brush. The purchase price for that parcel was $3 per acre. The small town began to grow and on Oct. 18, 1884, 25 males voters went to the polls and voted 23-2 to incorporate the Town of Brush and to form a local government.

By 1900 the community had taken firm roots. It boasted of a population of more than 500; it had a new school building (built with funds from an $8,000 bond issue passed by the voters in 1884), it had a town government with a "town board" and a marshal, it had two hotels, a newspaper - The Brush Tribune, and a new $3,000 Methodist Episcopal Church building.

In 1902 an organization of business men was formed to promote the community. It would become the Brush Civic Club, and then would later become the Brush Chamber of Commerce. One of the early activities of the organization was to promote the building of a sugar factory in Brush. This effort was successful, and in January 1906, work on the new million dollar factory started. On Oct. 12, 1906, the Great Western factory sliced its first load of sugar beets. That year also saw Brush get a $35,000 public waste system financed with a bond issue approved by a vote of 60-3.

The early economy of the region was based on livestock and agriculture, and when the sugar factory opened, together with the irrigation reservoirs, the farming industry grew rapidly, with thousands of acres of prime irrigated cropland in the South Platte valley, and thousands more acres of grazing lands and dry land crops in the surrounding regions.

Brush, as well as the entire nation, had suffered through the World War in 1917 and 1918, followed by the "Great Depression" of the 1930s. World War II, which began in 1939 and continued through 1945, put a damper on the growth of the Brush area. Following

the war, the economy again grew rapidly. Beginning in 1952, an era known as the "oil boom" changed our town, and with oil and gas exploration and production from oil fields south of Brush, the population of the town- doubled to an estimated 5,500. The Great Western sugar factory was closed in 1955, but the oil boom with all of its activity created demands for new services, housing, schools, and business opportunities. As has always been its custom, the business community and government of Brush responded to meet the needs.

In 1956, Thomson Elementary was built. The interstate highway was opened in 1962, our new hospital opened in 1966, and the new high school was built in 1971. Even when the oil activities began to subside, the economy remained vigorous with the opening of the multi-million dollar hog processing plant. Then in 1979 the Public Service Company built a 550 megawatt coal-fired electrical generation plant just to the southwest of Brush. Later another electrical generation power plant, powered by natural gas, was built within the city limits at the south side of town. In 1996 Brush proudly opened its new Beaver Valley Elementary School.

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Beaver Valley Elementary School houses second through through fifth grade.

Brush has become widely known as a complete "retirement center" with Eben Ezer approaching its 100th anniversary; Sunset Manor Nursing Home; Centennial Manor Apartments; and the East Morgan County Hospital all providing services for Brush's elderly population.

A summary of the 140-year history of the City of - Brush reads something like this: The area was first known as a livestock region, and this continued when the railroad arrived, with Brush becoming a shipping center for cattle and other 'livestock. Today ii is still known as a major livestock center with three livestock auction businesses. Agriculture in the region has always been a big part of the economy, from the very beginning with the early irrigation projects, right up through today with production of record crops each year. Brush is a regional retail and commercial center for business as well as a transportation center for the railroad and trucking industries. And finally, Brush is known for its excellent public school education system, its fine city government, its strong financial institutions, and its wonderful soft water.