The Orchard post office has been in operation since 1882.[5] The community was named for a grove of cottonwood trees near the original town site.[6]
Orchard is the town that was used to film James Michener's miniseries Centennial. Most if not all of the remnants of the production sets are now gone.
On August 2nd 2024 Orchard was renamed Centennial for one day in honor of the filming.[citation needed]
Oblique air photo of Orchard (center) with the South Platte River crossing from left to right, in September 2018
Geography
Orchard is in western Morgan County along Colorado State Highway 144, north of the South Platte River. Highway 144 leads northeast, then southeast down the South Platte valley 23 miles (37 km) to Fort Morgan, the Morgan county seat, and south 4 miles (6 km) to U.S. Route 34. The Orchard CDP has an area of 0.16 square miles (0.41 km2), all land.[1]
