Calumet, Huerfano County, Colorado facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Calumet
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Contemporary Calumet, and Colorado State Highway 69, July 2017
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 Calumet
Location in Colorado
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Calumet is a ghost town located in Huerfano County, Colorado. It was once a busy coal mining town. The town was started in 1904. You can find it northwest of Walsenburg, right near the entrance to the Calumet Coal Mine.
The History of Calumet: A Mining Town
Calumet was home to a few mines. One of them, Calumet No. 2, was owned for a short time by Henry J. Kaiser. His company, Kaiser Steel, managed it between 1924 and 1971.
Even though it was a small underground coal mine, the Calumet Mine was very important. In 1961, it was the top coal producer in Huerfano County.
The name "Calumet" comes from a type of ceremonial pipe. The little town never grew very big. It never even had its own post office. By the 1970s, Calumet was completely abandoned.
Calumet in the Movies: The Film Red Dawn
You might have heard of Calumet from the 1984 movie Red Dawn. In the film, Calumet, Colorado, is shown as a lively town. This is very different from the real, tiny ghost town.
The movie makers chose a fictional Calumet as the main setting. They wanted it to feel like it could be any small town in the United States. This helped viewers connect with the story.
Originally, the movie was going to be set in Calumet, Michigan. But that location was too far away. So, they decided to base the story in a central state like Colorado instead.
The movie Red Dawn was not actually filmed in the real Calumet. Instead, it was shot in and around Las Vegas, New Mexico. This town served as the stand-in for the movie's fictional Calumet.
