Colorado Fuel and Iron: Company Mines
Through the operation of these various mines, CF&I created an important industrial base for the economic growth of Colorado. Capital and labor were brought to the region from around the world by CF&I, and numerous communities were built to support this burgeoning industry. As the first vertically integrated corporation West of the Mississippi River, CF&I was essential in the development of agriculture, transportation, secondary manufacturing, and energy production in the region. None of it was possible, however, without the mines and the men that produced these raw materials.
This resource is intended to be an encyclopedia of CF&I's extensive mining operations, with the idea that it was the people of CF&I who made the company significant and not the other way around. They came from all over the world to toil in some of the darkest and most dangerous conditions imaginable in an effort to provide a better life for themselves and their families. That's why, in addition to providing facts and figures about each of these mines, these pages also provide historical information that helps us to understand what it was like for the men, women, and children of all of these different nationalities to live together and work together for a common interest. There is still a lot of work to be done to reach these goals, but we are confident that this is the most complete and accessible resource of its kind. If you have any comments or if you like to help contribute to this project, please contact me to let me know.
Notes on How to Use this Book
This exhibit is intended as a research and general knowledge database of mines that were either owned or leased by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. To use this book, simply click the index up in the left corner to browse by chapter or use the search function to search for specific mines or media. Anything that has been written within this book can be searched using the search function, including dates, locations, or types of mine. Each media file has been labeled to correspond with each mine for easier searching. For more questions about the images and media used in this exhibit, questions should be directed to the Steelworks Center of the West.
There are some pages with audio files that play automatically. If you do not wish to hear them simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can pause the audio player that plays the file. The audio clips were chosen with the hearing impaired in mind and do not include vital information about any of the mines.
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