CF&I Timeline
1872 General William Palmer and associates file incorporation paperwork to conduct business
within the Colorado Territory.
1873 Colorado Coal & Iron Company constructs Lake Minnequa to furnish water for domestic
and agricultural use.
1880 The Colorado Coal and Steel Works Company, the Southern Colorado Coal and Town Company,
and the Central Colorado Improvement Company consolidate to form the Colorado Coal and
Iron Company under the direction of General William Palmer
1881 First of two blast furnaces, named "Betsy," are blown-in in a formal ceremony
1882 First rail comes out of the plant
1886 The town of Bessemer incorporated
1892 The Colorado Fuel Company, under the direction of John C. Osgood, merges with the
Colorado Coal & Iron Company to become Colorado Fuel & Iron Company
1894 Railroad employees strike, paralyzing business for much of the year
1894 City of Bessemer annexed to the City of Pueblo
1895-1905 A massive modernization program begins resulting in the construction of the main
office building, dispensary building, new rail mill, hospital, a new blooming mill, wire
mill, and the expansion of mines and railways. Upgrades to existing mill buildings and
equipment is also conducted.
1901 Minnequa Steel Mill’s Sociological Department begins under the direction of Dr. Richard
W. Corwin, Chief Surgeon
1903 Minnequa Hospital opens in Pueblo
1904 The Rockefeller family obtains controlling interest in Colorado Fuel & Iron Company
1913-1914 Colorado Coal Field Wars and the Ludlow Massacre
1915 The Employee Representation Plan, otherwise known as the Rockefeller Plan, is established in the coal mines.
1916 The Rockefeller Plan is established in the Minnequa Works and the Sunrise Iron Mine
1917 CF&I purchases and improves the Minnequa Dairy
1918 Eight hour workday becomes standard at CF&I replacing the previous twelve-hour work
day
1920 Steel Works YMCA opens as the largest industrial “Y” in the country
1927-1928 Industrial Workers of the World call for a strike disrupting all Colorado mining
operations
1932 Employees feel the effects of the Great Depression and those not on the payroll are offered
classes to make use of their talents for self-sustainability
1936 Colorado Fuel & Iron Company re-organizes as the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation.
1941 World War II sparks increased production for war effort
1942 United Steel Workers of America unionizes the Minnequa Plant
1944 Rockefeller family sell controlling interest of the company to Charles Allen & Company &
Associates
1949 Negotiations begin between the Corwin Hospital and Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Ohio
to take over operations of the hospital
1949 New Rod Mill at the Pueblo Plant opens
1953 CF&I purchases John A. Roebling Sons Company steel plants in Trenton and Roebling,
New Jersey
1953 New Seamless Tube Mill opens at the Pueblo Plant
1959 Steel strike called by United Steelworkers of America closes all CF&I plants and other
principal steel producers for a period of 116 days, the longest nation-wide steel strike in
history until that point
1966 CF&I changes its corporate name to CF&I Steel Corporation
1969 Crane Company of New York acquires 82% of CF&I Steel Corporation’s stock
1970s CF&I faces heavy competition for steel from foreign manufacturers, forcing several of its
subsidiary companies to close
1979 CF&I completes its program of major capital projects to achieve compliance with the
Environmental Protection Act and Colorado Clean Air and Water standards
1979 America experiences a bust in the steel industry
1985 Crane Corporation sells controlling interest, and CF&I Steel becomes an independent
steel manufacturer
1990 CF&I files for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy
1993 Oregon Steel Mills purchases the assets of CF&I Steel Corporation, and operates as
CF&I Steel, L.P.
1998 Oregon Steel changes the name of the Pueblo Plant to Rocky Mountain Steel Mills to
reflect the Rocky Mountain holdings
2006 Evraz Corporation purchases Oregon Steel Mill holdings
