Garden City was founded on August 2, 1938, as a base for saloons and liquor stores serving residents of nearby Greeley, Colorado, which was then a Dry City. Shortly after the repeal of Prohibition in the United States, in June 1935, Greeley voters, by a majority of 356 votes, voted in the local option election to make Greeley "dry" and prohibit the sale, manufacture, transportation, or possession of liquor in the city limits of Greeley. The morning following the election, two Greeley liquor stores were closed by the Chief of Police. The Greeley Tribune published several articles about a Wet Town incorporating Greeley's southern edge.
This area was home to a 10-acre area known at the time as Ray's Cottage Camp, owned by Mrs. A.F. Ray. The law for incorporating a town at the time required a petition to be filled with Weld County of 30 or more residents who were also landowners. Mrs. Ray sold cabins and lots in her Cottage Camp for as little as $100.00 so that Garden City could meet the petition criteria.
According to Tribune articles written at the time, the incorporation of Garden City was challenged and found to be invalid twice but Garden City did finally become incorporated on the third attempt in 1938. According to the incorporation document on file in the Clerk's Office, the incorporation date was August 2, 1938.
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