SE Colorado, Part 3 - The Ghost Town Coal Camp of Berwind, Colorado
On this trip into southeastern Colorado, we took off on dirt roads that we had never been on, and had no idea what to expect. One such road had lots of surprises, but none more exciting than when we stumbled upon this.
This is the ghost town of Berwind, the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal camp that began in 1888, and named after Edward J. Berwind, the chairman of the board of CF&I. The coal fields were enormous, stretching for miles through the canyons north, south, and west of Trinidad. The miners of Berwind and other camps were an ethnic mix that included immigrants from Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, Ireland, England, Poland, Greece, and Hispanics and African Americans. It is said that as many as 27 different languages were spoken in the camp.
Coal Seam in the road cut along County Road 12
"St. Peter don't you call me, cuz I can't go...I owe my soul to the Company Store."
Berwind was a Company town, the miners and their families lived in homes owned by the Company. Life in a coal camp was a hard life. Their homes consisted of 4 rooms, and were crowded close together. One can only imagine the prevalence of coal dust that permeated everything in the canyon. Sanitation was horrible as "refuse from kitchen, sick chamber, laundry room, stable, is dumped in and near every camp".
There were about 200 of these 4 room miner's homes dotted along Berwind Canyon, where at one time the population was as high as 1,000. Berwind Coal Camp was shut down in 1928, when the demand for coal dropped to the point that the mine was no longer profitable.
In 1885 a law was passed the required boys to be 14 years old to work in the mines, and 12 to work in the breakers, but young boys, sometimes as young as 8 years old, quit school to work as 'breaker boys', seperating rock from the coal, and 'trappers', opening and closing the mine doors for the mule trains. The boys aspired to become 'mule-drivers', where they might be paid as much as $2.95 for 10 hours of labor. They did what they had to do to help their families survive.
Coal was brought out of the mine on mine cars hauled by mules, and then tipped onto a 'tipple' to empty them of their coal.
Many coal camps paid the miners in 'scrip', which could not be converted to money, and could only be used in the Company Store. In 1912, miners made 55 cents a ton digging coal, and from that had to pay for their own tools, even the blasting powder to be used in the mine, and rent for their homes. They were only paid for the coal they dug, not for example, the labor involved in "timbering', or shoring up the mines for their own safety. The only way to buy supplies and food was from the Company Store. What little they made went right back to the Company. And they were often cheated at the scales that weighed the coal they dug, back-breakingly, day after day, by hand out of the Black Hole.
The inside of the coal mine was known as the "Black Hole", from which many a miner never lived to see daylight again.
The lives of the coal miners were hard and dangerous - even desperate. They lived with the threat of cave-ins, floods, fires, and explosions, and knew that rescue was difficult indeed. More often than not, impossible. Mining was, and still is, considered to be one of the world's top 10 most dangerous industries. From 1880 -1910, thousands of miners lost their lives in mining accidents. In 1907 alone, 3,242 miners were lost across the country. And adding to this misery, was the poor treatment of them by the coal bosses. Racism was rampant, and the lives and well being of the mules were more important to the bosses than the lives of the men. Mules had to be purchased, the men could be replaced for next to nothing.
Daddy Don't Go To The Mines Today
A miner was leaving his home for work
When he heard his little child scream.
He went to the side of his little girl's bed
Oh Daddy I had such a dream!
Oh Daddy, don't go to the mines today
For dreams have so often come true.
Oh Daddy, dear Daddy, please don't go away
For never could I live without you
I dreamed that the mines were all raging with fire
And the miners all fought for their lives.
Just then the scene changed and the mouth of the mines
Was crowded with sweethearts and wives.
Her Daddy then smiling and stroking her face
Was turning away from her side,
While laying her small arms around Daddy's neck
She gave him a kiss, and then cried:
Go down to the village and tell your dear friends
That sure as the bright stars do shine,
That something is going to happen today,
Oh Daddy, don't go to the mines.
-Robert Donnely, Will Geddes, 1910
It's no wonder they eventually chose to strike for better conditions. And with dire consequences.
Current event: Mine accident March 30 in China, 153 workers trapped.
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