Calcite is an extinct town located in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. It served as a company coal mining town for Colorado Fuel & Iron. It is located along Howard Creek roughly six miles from the census-designated place of Howard.[5]
Calcite, Coloado | |
|---|---|
![Men's club constructed in 1914 by Colorado Fuel & Iron[2]](/wiki/File:Men%27s_club_built_by_Colorado_Fuel_%26_Iron_in_Calcite,_Colorado.jpg) Men's club constructed in 1914 by Colorado Fuel & Iron[2] | |
  Calcite Location of Calcite, Colorado.  Calcite Calcite (Colorado) | |
| Coordinates: 38°26′10″N 105°53′14″W / 38.4361°N 105.8872°W[3] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| County | Fremont[1] |
| Government | |
| • Type | unincorporated community |
| • Body | Fremont County[1] |
| Elevation | 7,602 ft (2,317 m) |
| Time zone | UTC−07:00 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−06:00 (MDT) |
| ZIP code[4] | 81233 |
| GNIS pop ID | 191720 |
Description
editCalcite's name come from the carbonate mineral calcite, which was quarried in significant quantities in the valleys near the settlement.[6] Located near the base of Hunts Peak, a 13,071-foot-tall (3,984 m) mountain in the Sangre de Cristo Range, it was composed of a set of three Upper, Middle, and Lower camps.[5][7] The Calcite, Colorado, post office operated from June 29, 1904, until April 30, 1930.[8] At its height, 200 people lived in Calcite, though there is no cemetery.[5]
The site is currently composed of several abandoned structures and has signs delineating the separate camps. Basements of homes, portions of mining buildings, and pathways from the initial settlement are scattered through the site.[9]
History
editThe site was initially founded in 1903 by CF&I to serve as a residence for miners working at the newly-constructed Howard's Quarry, which began operation in 1904.[5][9] The post office opened in 1904. A school and a men's club were constructed in 1914, part of the CF&I efforts to improve its standing among miners after a strike in their Southern Colorado coalfields turned deadly and resulted in the Ludlow Massacre.[2] The school continued operation for several years, graduating students through the eighth grade. The town also had sports clubs and a local chapter of company union established as part of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and William Lyon Mackenzie King's strategy to reduce discontent among the miners.[10] The community was abandoned in 1930.[5]
See also
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References
edit- ^ a b "Colorado Counties". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ a b Seligman, Edwin R. A. (5 November 1914). "Colorado's Civil War and Its Lessons". Frank Leslie's Weekly. Accessible Archives. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Calcite, Colorado". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Calcite". Museum Blog. Cañon City, CO: Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Calcite from limestone quarry near Howard, Fremont County, Colorado". Online Mineral Museum. AllMinerals.com. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Hunts Peak". Summit Post. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Bauer, William H.; Ozment, James L.; Willard, John H. (1990). Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989. Golden, Colorado: Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation. ISBN 0-918654-42-4.
- ^ a b "Ghost Town Calcite Photography". Ghost Towns. Coloradopast.com. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Calcite". Colorado Fuel and Iron Company Industrial Bulletin. Vol. VI, no. 3. Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. 25 June 1921. p. 14. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
External links
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