Who We Are

Chapter History

Friday’s Council Tree Chapter, NSDAR, was founded on June 1, 2008, and organized September 16, 2008. Our name is in honor of the Council Tree that was located northwest of Timnath, Colorado. Chief Friday and his Arapaho Tribe used this tree as a meeting place and significant landmark. The Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribes would meet and hold council under a tall cottonwood tree along the Poudre River. This tree was easy to find; it was old, gnarled, and twisted. At over 100 feet tall and 16 feet around, it was the largest tree in the area. Since the tree was located on a nice, flat, grassy area, it became a favorite spot. It was also a convenient place to rendezvous after a hunting party.

The Council Tree was one of several well-known Colorado trees having historical significance. It was named to the American Forestry Association Hall of Fame and the Conservation Committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a plaque on the tree designating it for special recognition. The Colorado Mountain Club placed a fence around it to protect it from livestock. In the mid-1930s, the Council Tree was accidentally destroyed in a weed fire.

Chief Friday of the Northern Arapaho Tribe was a very influential person among his people and in their dealings with the white settlers. Larimer County is located in their traditional hunting area. In 1831, Thomas Fitzpatrick found a starving young boy on the prairie. He took him to St. Louis, where he adopted him and placed him in a Catholic school. While at school, the boy became fluent in English. Fitzpatrick named the boy Friday, because that was the day he found him. During talks between the Army and the Arapaho in 1857, Chief Friday acted as an interpreter. A soldier described him as “a tall noble looking man, well dressed in skins and with good buffalo robes as blankets.” Friday was never a head chief, but due to his constant efforts to maintain good relations with the whites, he was recognized as a Peace Chief. He died on May 13, 1881, from a heart ailment, at the approximate age of 58. Written by organizing member Lyn Rubenthaler

Historic Markers