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SE Colorado,Part 2 - Coke Ovens of Cokedale, Colorado

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Real Estate Agent with Real Estate Showcase Photography

SE Colorado, Part 2 - Coke Ovens of Cokedale, Colorado

 

I had never seen a coke oven before, and as we came around the bend into Cokedale on Colorado County Road 12, my first thought was of Roman ruins.

 

Coke ovens in Cokedale, CO

 

Coke ovens in Cokedale, CO

Working in the coal mines was hard work. Very hard. But some were lucky enough to work above ground.

Coke ovens were used at extremely high temperatures to turn coal into 'coke', ( a very hard form of coal with the impurities removed), which is among other things, used to make steel. Coke heats at extremely high temperatures, to about 2800 degrees, and this is what gives strength and flexibility to the steel used for so many purposes. A coke oven is made up of a heating chamber, coking chamber, and a regenerative chamber. After the 16-20 hour process, brick on both ends (the doors) are removed, and the coke is pushed out into waiting railroad cars.

Imagine for a moment what it was like when the coke ovens were fired up. As the coal fills up the oven, the heat and pressure ignite, and a sulphuric smelling smoke leaves through the top of the oven. Depending on which way the wind is blowing, smoke from 350 ovens could envelope the whole town with a sulphurous stench.

 

Coke ovens in Cokedale, CO

In the 18th century in England, a coke-fired blast furnace was created that could produce 'cast iron'. This discovery was one of the factors that lead us into the Industrial Revolution.

Coke ovens in Cokedale, CO

 

Eight miles outside of Trinidad, Colorado, in Las Animas County, sits the small village of Cokedale, once a coal mining camp, where workers and their families lived in Company owned homes.  At it's peak, Cokedale had 1500 residents and produced 1500 tons of coal, and 800 tons of coke a day. Built in 1906 by the American Smelting and Refining Company, it is the most "intact coal camp" in the state, and 350 coke ovens were in use there until the camp was closed down in 1946. Unlike other mines, the miners of Cokedale enjoyed good relations with mine management and never experienced the violence of other camps.


At the time the mine closed, the Company offered the miners that wanted to stay, the ability to purchase their homes for $100 per room, and $50 for the lot.

Today, a very controversial coal-bed methane project is underway a few miles up the road in Boncarbo.

Cokedale, with it's coke ovens and surviving buildings of the period, was placed on the National Historic Register in 1984. It's a very small community, (the population in 2008 was 134) - no stores, no public restrooms.

Cokedale Colorado

 

 

SE Colorado, Part 1 - Trinidad

 

 

 

 

Comments(42)

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TeamCHI - Complete Home Inspections, Inc.
Complete Home Inspections, Inc. - Brentwood, TN
Home Inspectons - Nashville, TN area - 615.661.029

Debe, great article about this area. I knew about coke ovens as I visited some out east of here. I think I'll have to give you a star...

Apr 02, 2010 10:29 PM
Diane Williams
Pell City, AL

How interesting, I have never heard of coke oven before. You learn something new every day. Nice post.

Apr 03, 2010 02:25 AM
Adam Malachi
A 2 Z Realty LLC - Castle Rock, CO
QSC,CDPE,CIPS,CNE,CRB,CRS,GRI,MRE,SFR

What a wonderful history posting! Very beautiful pictures!

Happy Easter to you!

Than you very much for sharing!

Adam

Apr 03, 2010 04:44 AM
Debbie Walsh
SHAHAR Management - Middletown, NY
Hudson Valley NY Real Estate 845.283-3036

How interesting Debi!  I had never heard of any of this before.  It doesn't sound like this would have been a very pleasant place to live with a smell like that with the ovens burning.  Great pictures!

Apr 03, 2010 11:43 AM
Mary Douglas
United Country Ponderosa Realty, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado - Red Feather Lakes, CO
REALTOR, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado

Thanks for the photo Debi, I don't think it's a coke plant either - but what do I know LOL!!  Several coal mines still in operation around Colorado, though.

Apr 03, 2010 03:08 PM
Debi Boucher
Real Estate Showcase Photography - Woodland Park, CO
"Realtor Showcase" - Real Estate Photography/Virtual Tours

Todd - The process used today is quite different - See Mary yonkers' comment #9 :)

Michael - Thanks for the STAR!Are there a lot of them out there?

Diane, Adam, Marlene - Don't feel bad, I never heard of them either :)

Deb - No, I think it would have been very unpleasant....

Mary - I am surprised to learn how much coal is here - I had no idea. How could i live in Colorado for 17 years and not know this? LOL

Debi

 

Apr 03, 2010 03:41 PM
Debi Boucher
Real Estate Showcase Photography - Woodland Park, CO
"Realtor Showcase" - Real Estate Photography/Virtual Tours

Happy Easter to you too, Ms. Ladybird! A big hug to you and John :) Glad you found the post interesting!

Debi

Apr 04, 2010 02:55 AM
Michael and Cheron Lange
Solutions Real Estate - Chandler, AZ
Associate Broker, GRI

Okay Debi, now that was pretty cool and yet educational!  After 21 years of living in Denver, I had no idea about the coke ovens.  Thanks!

Cheron

Apr 07, 2010 03:30 PM
Debi Boucher
Real Estate Showcase Photography - Woodland Park, CO
"Realtor Showcase" - Real Estate Photography/Virtual Tours

I've been here for 17 years, and I didn't know either! It sure is interesting, I'm glad I found out about it.

Debi

Apr 07, 2010 04:04 PM
Debi Boucher
Real Estate Showcase Photography - Woodland Park, CO
"Realtor Showcase" - Real Estate Photography/Virtual Tours

Hey Cheryl - Me too - I was used to seeing gold and silver mines - not coal.  Thanks for having a look!

Debi

Apr 08, 2010 02:47 AM
Andrea Swiedler
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties - New Milford, CT
Realtor, Southern Litchfield County CT

Debi, wow, this is fantastic! Yes, it does look like Roman ruins. And that was a ton of coal per person in the town, per day.

I have never seen a coke oven, never even knew what one was! Now I do, thanks to you.

Those are wonderful photos, as always.

Apr 17, 2010 09:28 AM
Debi Boucher
Real Estate Showcase Photography - Woodland Park, CO
"Realtor Showcase" - Real Estate Photography/Virtual Tours

Hi Andrea - I had no clue either - so glad I had the opportunity to see and learn about them. Thanks for your visit :)

Apr 17, 2010 10:03 AM
Jim Frimmer
HomeSmart Realty West - San Diego, CA
Realtor & CDPE, Mission Valley specialist

It does look like Roman ruins. I might also have guessed an old amphitheater.

Apr 21, 2010 04:07 PM
Debi Boucher
Real Estate Showcase Photography - Woodland Park, CO
"Realtor Showcase" - Real Estate Photography/Virtual Tours

Amazing, huh? So much to see in this country of ours!

Apr 22, 2010 03:43 AM
Emelyn Morris-Sayre
The Berkshire Group - Lakewood, CO
CRS, REALTOR, Lakewood/Denver 303-517-5116

Debi - Great post. Colorado has so many great areas and stories just waiting to be discovered. Reading your story and enjoying your photographs makes me want to do a road trip with my new camera!  Thanks so much.

Apr 23, 2010 11:12 AM
Debi Boucher
Real Estate Showcase Photography - Woodland Park, CO
"Realtor Showcase" - Real Estate Photography/Virtual Tours

Emelyn- Head on out there! This weekend may not be a good idea tho....ton of snow!

Apr 23, 2010 11:41 AM
Bruce Walter
Keller Williams Realty Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana - West Lafayette, IN

Hi Debi,

What a great set of pictures and history lesson!  With your first photo from the distance it almost looked like a Roman aqua-duct in the mountain valleys outside of Rome. (great minds think alike???)  ^_~

Where were the steel mills located out West for the coke to go to for steel production?  Surely they didn't ship all that coke to the steel mills back East did they?

Very interesting!

May 09, 2010 12:28 PM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

Debi, Where do you find the time to do all of your wondeful posts? By title I thought originally the soda, then the white powder (I'm not sure what it is for but people seemd to think it has value), had no idea there was a coal product with the name coke.

May 25, 2010 06:45 PM
Fred Carver Real Estate Consulant
Retired BC Realtor - Victoria, BC
Accredited Real Estate Consultant

Hi Debi...looks like you are back on track. Neat to find these old coke ovens, great photos.

Cheers

Sep 17, 2010 04:13 PM
Lori Churchill Cofer
Beasley Realty - Pullman, WA
Realtor - 509-330-0086 - Pullman, WA

Debi ~ I have never heard of such a thing or seen them...I too would of thought they were ruins...

Oct 01, 2010 05:54 PM