Tercio, Colorado facts for kids
Tercio is a ghost town and an old coal mine in Las Animas County, Colorado. A post office opened there in 1902 and closed in 1949. The name 'Tercio' means 'third' in Spanish. It was the third coal mining town built by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company.
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Where is Tercio?
Tercio is mostly an old, unused coal mine and a few remains of a company town. It is located near the start of the South Fork of the Purgatoire River. This spot is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the border with New Mexico.
The mine and town are in the lower hills of the Culebra Range. This range is part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Tercio sits high up, at about 2,358 meters (7,736 feet) above sea level.
Tercio was one of many coal-mining towns built in the Raton Basin. This happened in the late 1800s and early 1900s. One writer said Tercio had a very beautiful location. It was surrounded by low, wooded hills on three sides. To the west, the Sangre de Cristos mountains rose high into the sky.
Tercio's Past: A Mining Town
Before the miners came, the valley of the South Fork of the Purgatoire River had few people. There were small Hispanic settlements called Torres and Rincon.
The Colorado Fuel and Iron company started Tercio in 1901. In 1902, the Tercio mine began producing coal. The Colorado Supply Company Store opened on December 3, 1901. The Colorado and Wyoming Railway company built its train line to Tercio in 1902.
Most of the coal from Tercio was used to make coke. Coke is a special fuel. It was sent by train to Pueblo, Colorado. There, it was used in the Colorado Fuel and Iron steel mill.
By August 1902, Tercio was a growing company town. It had 100 houses for workers. By 1910, the Tercio coal industry employed 1,000 men. The town itself had about 300 families living there.
However, after 1913, the making of coke started to slow down. The mine closed in 1915. But coke production continued until 1918. The company store stayed open much longer, until 1949. Today, that large store building is the only main building left in Tercio.
Other Mines Nearby
Two other coal mines were close to Tercio. One was called Cuatro (Spanish for "four"). It was about 3 kilometers (2 miles) west. The other was Cornell, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) northwest.
- Cuatro mine operated from 1902 to 1907.
- Cornell mine operated from 1908 to 1911.
The Tercio mine produced the most coal, with over 1.5 million tons. Cuatro produced about 273,000 tons, and Cornell produced about 500 tons.
Mining Accidents
Mining was a dangerous job. On October 28, 1904, 19 men died in an explosion at the Tercio mine. News reports said that most of the workers who died were from other countries.
On April 22, 1906, another explosion happened at the Cuatro Mine. This accident also killed 19 workers.
Protecting the Land
In 2013, a businessman named Louis Bacon announced a plan to protect a large area of land. This plan set aside about 21,000 acres (85 square kilometers) on the Tercio and Red River ranches. This land is now protected forever.
Famous Person from Tercio
- Agnes Smedley was a journalist and a supporter of social change. She went to school in Tercio in 1908. After finishing 8th grade there, she passed a test to become a school teacher at age 17.
