Toller Coal Mine
Location: Las Animas County, Colorado
Years of Operation: 1918-1932
From CF&I Coal Mines and Coke Ovens: A History by James Copeland and R.W. MacCannon:
In 1888, Giacamo Toller emigrated from the Tyrol region in Austria to the United States and over time became a well-known businessman in the Trinidad area. Scamehorn states that at one point in Toller’s career, he was employed at the Sopris mine. He acquired property in the Berwind area and after moving there made an agreement with the Cedar Hill Coal and Coke Company to furnish the equipment for the development of what was to become the Toller mine. A Shaft of 352 feet was sunk to the coal seam and it was completed in June of 1908 when mining was started. On July 6, 1909, there was a mine explosion that took the lives of nine men. Production of coal from Toller through December 1917 was 1,109,244 tons.
In January 1918, CF&I acquired the property from Toller and the equipment from Cedar Hill and took over the operation. The mine was located on the Ludlow branch of the C&S RR about two miles south of Berwind at Tollerburg at an elevation of 6,600 feet above sea level. The coal tract owned by CF&I consisted of 316+ acres of which 160 acres had been acquired at the time of consolidation in October of 1892. The acreage purchased from Toller consisted of 156.61 acres. According to Jackson, CF&I invested some $399,056 for equipment and housing at this property. The last production from the mine came at the end of April in 1931 and the mine was officially closed in 1932 after having produced for CF&I a total of 2,350,271 tons of coal. The mine plant and the equipment were sold effective August 15, 1933.
