city, seat (1889) of Morgan county, northeastern Colorado, U.S., on a low plateau overlooking the South Platte River, 70 miles (113 km) northeast of Denver at an elevation of 4,240 feet (1,292 metres). The site, on the Overland Trail, was originally occupied by a fort (established in 1864 and named for an American Civil War colonel, Christopher A. Morgan). The fort was abandoned in 1868, but the adjacent settlement prospered and developed as a processing and shipping centre for local produce including livestock, dairy products, sugar beets, potatoes, beans, corn (maize), alfalfa, and small grain. After 1950, oil was exploited in the nearby Denver-Julesburg Oil Basin, and refineries became economically significant. Local manufactures include hand tools, irrigation pipes, and concrete products. Morgan Community College was founded in 1967. Pawnee National Grassland is to the north. Inc. town, 1887; city, 1908. Pop. (1990) 9,068; (2000) 11,034.