Brodhead, Colorado facts for kids

Brodhead town site in 2021

Brodhead is a ghost town in Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but now it's mostly empty.

Brodhead is about 2.25 miles (3.6 km) north of Aguilar. It's near Interstate 25, about 18 miles (29 km) north of Trinidad. A special place nearby is the Ludlow Monument. This monument remembers the coal miners and their families who died in a sad event called the Ludlow Massacre in 1914.

The people who lived in Brodhead came from different places. There were people from Mexico and Europe. Some miners even came all the way from Stafford, England.

How the Town Grew

Brodhead was a mining town. It was built and owned by a company started by three brothers: Henry C. Brodhead, Albert G. Brodhead, and Robert S. Brodhead. They ran the town from the late 1890s to the mid-1960s. Before this, the brothers had another mine nearby from 1896 to 1899. Brodhead was a company town. This means the company owned most of the homes and stores.

Brodhead in 1911

In 1911, a business guide described Brodhead as a coal mining town. It had about 300 people living there. Aguilar was the closest town with a railroad. People could take a stagecoach to Aguilar and Lynn.

Some of the important people and businesses in Brodhead in 1911 included:

• Carl V. Bates, who was the town doctor.
• F Baudina, a general store that sold many different things.
• Howell & Bennett, who ran a boarding house where people could stay.
• The Las Animas Coal Co., which was the main mining company.
• E C Reck Jr., who was the postmaster. The Post Office was open from 1902 to 1913.
• J M Williams, who ran a saloon.

Brodhead in 1929

By 1929, the Temple Fuel Company was running the main mine in the area. Their mine was called Brodhead Colliery. It was a large mine that could produce about 110,000 tons of coal. They used electric machines to cut coal and electric trains to move it. About 200 men worked there.

The Post Office in Brodhead had reopened in 1915. However, it closed again in 1939.

Mining in Brodhead

Many different mines operated in the canyon around Brodhead. Mining was the main job for most people living there. Here are some of the mines and when they were active:

Mining was a very dangerous job back then, and it still can be today. Unfortunately, some miners lost their lives in accidents while working in the Brodhead mines.