Current
Colorado Fuel & Iron Plant
Year Listed: 1999
County: Pueblo County
Status: PROGRESS
Context: Industrial
Date Constructed: late 19th, early 20th c.
Significance:
Colorado Fuel & Iron (CFI) dominated local coal production and steel-making in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At one time the company was the largest private employer, landowner, and taxpayer in Colorado, bringing thousands of workers and their families to the state. The industrial complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a Local Landmark as well as an official Save America's Treasures project.
Threat When Listed:
Lack of funds
Since Listing:
The Bessemer Historical Society was formed in 2000 to save the buildings and archives of CF&I. Since then, they acquired the mission style Minnequa Office Complex, consisting of four buildings and nearly six acres, with the hope of future renovation for a museum, archives, and education center. Rocky Mountain Steel Mills donated one of the most complete collections of artifacts representative of the industrialization of the American West. The Bessemer Historical Society received a grant from the National Archives Association to assist with cataloging the massive collection of maps, records, microfilm, negatives, and photographs with a professional archivist overseeing the process. The Bessemer Historical Society has opened the Steel Works Museum of Industry and Culture in the Medical Dispensary. The exterior of the Administration Building is in the process of being restored to its original grandeur while the interior will be restored to the 1940s and be used as additional museum space. The Mine Rescue Car #1, which is on the National Register, was fully restored and donated to the Museum in February 2007 by the Pueblo County Historical Society.
Related Links:
Bessemer Historical Society
Last Updated:
July 2008