Colorado Fuel and Iron: Culture and Industry in Southern Colorado

Mining

The majority Southern Colorado's coal mines were owned and operated at one time by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) to help fuel trains for the vast railroad network that was pushing its way through the American West, and to fire the furnaces of the steelworks plant in Pueblo, Colorado. CF&I also invested in numerous iron mines throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, and operated several lime quarries, dolomite quarries, and a fluorspar mine for fluxing materials to be used in the steel-making process. In all, there were over 60 CF&I mines operating in the region over the course of the company’s history. Several grades of coal were mined by CF&I in Colorado, the most significant being bituminous coal. Bituminous coal is especially abundant in Southern Colorado, and its low-ash and low-sulfur content make it suitable for producing coke. CF&I’s coal mines have also been a source of intense controversy over the years, especially concerning labor relations between the company and its employees. One of the most famous incidents in American labor history, the Ludlow Massacre, resulted from a dispute between CF&I and its coal miners in 1914.



The link below leads to a project that was started by a group of Digital History students from Colorado State University-Pueblo, and is currently being maintained and operated by the editor. It is the most current and useful online database available relating to the mining operations of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. 

Mines of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company

 

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