The Colorado Coalfield War, 1913–14

4 Locations | Curated by Natalie Larsen, Brigham Young University

Beneath the serene landscape of southern Colorado’s arid foothill country are the remnants of two forgotten worlds. Far beneath it all are the remains of prehistoric plants and animals, decayed and crushed to form rich, accessible coal deposits. Simultaneously, in the blackness of now-abandoned mine shafts, remain the buried dreams of the miners who first extracted the sooty treasure. These mines and the surrounding communities were once the sites of America’s deadliest labor conflict, an eight-month struggle that culminated in the death of dozens of people. Ultimately, the strike ended in stalemate for the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company (CFI) and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The most tragic chapter of the strike, the Ludlow Massacre, continues to inspire activists and artists alike. For union members around the world, Ludlow has remained an important symbol of their shared heritage and a reminder of why their organizations exist. A monument erected by the UMWA in 1918 still stands just off Interstate 25, where it receives thousands of visitors every year.

Hundreds of feet below ground in the dirty and dangerous mines of southern Colorado, many miners did not expect their lives above ground to be much better. Mostly immigrants, they were at the mercy of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. In the company towns and nearby communities, corruption and discrimination ran rampant as conditions deteriorated for the miners and their families.
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After years of abuses by the Colorado Fuel & Mining Company (CFI), thousands of miners throughout the southern Colorado coalfields joined a United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) strike. The ensuing violence from September 1913 to May 1914 made it the bloodiest labor dispute in American history.
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While it is true that all miners who participated in the Colorado Coalfield Strike of 1913–14 were men, women were also embroiled in the controversy and consequences of the movement. Wives of miners, sympathetic locals, and even a famous union agitator involved themselves in remarkable ways throughout the strike.
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On the morning of April 20, 1914, gunfire broke out at the Ludlow tent colony. The ensuing eleven-hour gun battle between the state militia and the strikers left at least twenty dead, including two women and twelve children. Later dubbed the “Ludlow Massacre” by union advocates, this tragedy capped one of the darkest chapters in American labor relations.
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