On the fateful day of September 14, 1888, Edward Hollister died. While returning to Windsor from Fort Collins, Hollister was severely injured while attempting to board a moving train. His friend and travel companion, J.W. McCreery did his best to rescue Hollister, but his efforts were unsuccessful. Edward Hollister was pulled beneath the moving train cars. Two train cars passed over his legs, severing them both; one below the knee and the other above. Hollister was given medical attention as swiftly as possible. He remained conscious during the serious ordeal until he succumbed to his injuries a few hours later.

Not only is this a sad tale, but one that is increasingly more downtrodden when understanding the influence Edward Hollister had on the Town of Windsor. Edward Hollister arrived in Northern Colorado in 1870. By 1879, the Hollister family land holdings encompassed 320 acres.

In 1882, Edward Hollister, along with the Lake Supply Ditch Company, platted the Town of Windsor with the townsite south of Main Street owned by Hollister and the land north of Main Street owned by the Ditch Company. Hollister is likely the person who gave Windsor its name, after his hometown of Windsor, New York.

The Lake Supply Ditch Company named the body of water within the town Lake Hollister, which over eighty years later, would become known as Windsor Lake.

Next time you walk downtown or sit by Windsor Lake, think about the contributions Edward Hollister made to early Windsor and keep his legacy alive, even if just for a moment.