Hastings, Colorado & the Worst Mining Accident – Legends of America
Nestled in the rugged landscape of Southern Colorado, lies the ghost of Hastings, a town etched in history by the echoes of industry and tragedy. Born as a mere railroad stop in 1889, Hastings swiftly transformed into a bustling coal mining camp, the lifeblood of which was pumped by the Victor American Fuel Company, Colorado’s oldest mining enterprise. However, the earth here had yielded its riches since the 1870s, setting the stage for a community intertwined with the fortunes and perils of the coal beneath their feet.
The story of Hastings is interwoven with the iron veins of the Canon de Agua Railroad Company, later absorbed into the Union Pacific, Denver, and Gulf Railway Company. Between 1888 and 1889, these tracks snaked through the terrain, connecting Hastings to the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at Barnes, a mere three miles east. This railway link was not just a means of transportation; it was the lifeline that would fuel the town’s growth and connect it to the wider world. The Victor American Fuel Company, recognizing the strategic importance of this infrastructure, eventually acquired the railway line, integrating it into the Colorado & Southeastern Railroad.
In 1889, Victor Station emerged, and with it, a post office christened Hastings, marking the formal beginning of the town. By May 1892, the town’s boundaries were officially mapped out, and a flurry of construction ensued, bringing to life the buildings that would house the community. By the close of 1899, the Denver Times described Hastings as the bustling center of operations for the Victor Fuel Company, a camp teeming with nearly 1,000 residents, all drawn by the allure of mining.
The newspaper account continued, painting a vivid picture of Hastings’ significance: "The camp…supplies 100 [coke] ovens with some of the best coking coal in the district… The Victor Fuel Company furnishes supplies to all the railroads, smelters, mills, and reduction plants… The coke output is partly distributed through the state; the balance finds its way into Mexico, New Mexico, and Arizona and is used in the copper, gold, silver, and lead smelters."
Coke, the lifeblood of steelmaking and smelting, was produced by baking coal in ovens, stripping away impurities and water to achieve the intense heat required for these industrial processes. Hastings was not merely a mining town; it was a cog in the industrial machine, fueling the growth of industries across state lines and beyond.
By 1900, Hastings had swelled to a population of 1,174, a testament to its burgeoning economy and the promise of opportunity. In 1903, the railroad’s reach extended further, connecting Hastings to the mining camp of Delagua, another Victor American Fuel Company property. The town continued to evolve, and by 1910, Hastings boasted a company store, a meat market, a saloon, a church, and a public school. These amenities painted a portrait of a community striving to create a semblance of normalcy amidst the grit and danger of mining life.
By 1915, the town’s population had reached 1,200 souls. The company operated 190 coke ovens at Hastings, churning out approximately 300 tons of coke and 2,300 tons of coal daily, extracted from the Hastings and Delagua mines. These figures underscored the sheer scale of the mining operation and the pivotal role Hastings played in the region’s economy.
A 1917 report by a U.S. Bureau of Mines inspector provided a snapshot of Hastings’ infrastructure: "Surface buildings, in general, are substantially constructed, many of the essential brick structures. A coal washery is located at the end of the tipple. From this washery, coal is conveyed to beehive coke ovens a few hundred feet distant by electric larry cars, and refuse is conveyed by an aerial tram to a large dump about one-quarter mile distant. The dwelling houses, some built of brick but generally of frame construction, are located in a comparatively narrow valley between the ledges forming the coal outcrop."
Life in Hastings was not without its perils. On June 18, 1912, the Hastings Mine was struck by an explosion that claimed the lives of 12 miners, including the fire boss, and left another seriously injured. The incident occurred on a new slope of the mine, but it did not disrupt the main operations.
The first sign of the disaster was smoke billowing from the new slope’s mouth shortly before midnight. Mine superintendent James Cameron and David Reese, head of the company’s rescue service, spearheaded a rescue operation. However, only one Greek miner, severely burned, was saved. The only exit had collapsed, leading to the miners’ suffocation. Investigators attributed the explosion to a "windy shot," resulting from improperly placed charges or the use of incorrect explosives, which ignited a gas mixture, coal dust, or both.
As the community grappled with the tragedy, the winds of war began to sweep across the globe. On April 6, 1917, the U.S. Congress declared war against Germany, marking America’s entry into World War I. Just weeks later, on April 22, many Hastings miners attended the commemoration of the third anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre. The Victor-American Company, a key player in the Ludlow strike, stood as one of Colorado’s three largest coal mining companies.
The United Mine Workers of America dedicated the land where the Ludlow Massacre occurred to those who perished during the Colorado Coalfield War. Thousands of miners and their families converged on Ludlow, adorned with red bandannas, the emblem of the strikers. They carried American flags and the battle-scarred flag of Ludlow, as union leaders delivered speeches, encouraging patriotism and the miners’ support of "their adopted colors" during the war effort.
However, amidst the backdrop of war and remembrance, a glimmer of hope emerged. In March 1917, the Victor-American Fuel Company, once a staunch opponent of union demands, signed a three-year operating agreement with the United Mine Workers of America.
But the respite was short-lived. Just five days after the Ludlow Massacre ceremony, another explosion struck Hastings, dwarfing the tragedy of 1912. On the morning of April 27, 1917, 122 men descended into the Hastings No. 2 coal mine. After a fire boss cleared the mine of methane gas and other hazards, work commenced.
Italian Frank Millatto, riding the coal cars to the surface, noticed smoke rising towards him. He alerted the authorities, becoming the sole survivor of that day’s shift. Superintendent Cameron formed a rescue party, but smoke forced them back. Volunteers arrived from nearby mines, but the explosion had caused extensive damage.
The Rocky Mountain News reported that virtually every camp in Las Animas and Huerfano Counties was represented in the rescue crews. The situation was dire, with some men succumbing to gas fumes, others crushed, and some burned beyond recognition. Meanwhile, women and children gathered near the mine entrance, waiting for news.
As the grim reality set in, the operation shifted from rescue to recovery. The work was slow and laborious. By May 1, only 19 bodies had been recovered, but by mid-month, the number had risen to 101. Identification was difficult, with some bodies only identifiable by their brass identification disks. On May 10, the body of mine inspector David Reese was found, with his Wolf key-lock safety lamp disassembled nearby.
The Hastings explosion was the deadliest mining accident in Colorado’s history, leaving behind 64 widows and 149 fatherless children. The miners came from diverse backgrounds, including Greek, Austrian, American, Italian, Mexican, Polish, Welsh, Spanish, and Serbian.
The funerals were a somber affair, with multiple services held each day. Investigations revealed that the explosion was caused by David Reese, the Mine Inspector. His body was relatively intact, and the glass in his lamp was undamaged. Experts testified that the explosion originated near his body, likely caused by the opening of the safety lamp.
Despite Reese’s reputation as a safety educator, he had 22 matches on his person, a violation of standard procedures. A coroner’s jury concluded that the explosion was caused by the opening of a safety lamp by an individual, with evidence pointing to David Reese.
The tragedy marked a turning point for Hastings. By November 1917, the mine was only partially operational, and production had plummeted. Despite significant investment in repairs, the mine never fully recovered.
In 1920, a new development, Hastings No. 5, extracted 73,000 tons, but the rise of oil production diminished the demand for coal. By 1923, only 7,049 tons were extracted, leading to the mine’s closure.
By 1925, Hastings still had a population of a thousand, but by 1929, it had dwindled to just 300. By 1939, the town had become a ghost town, and by 1948, only one inhabitant remained.
The final cleanup of the site was completed in 1952, and the railroad tracks were removed. Today, only a few buildings, concrete foundations, and deteriorating coke ovens remain. A granite monument stands as a solemn reminder of the 121 men who lost their lives in the 1917 explosion.
The old townsite is located about 16 miles northwest of Trinidad, Colorado. A visit to Hastings is a journey into the past, a poignant reminder of the lives lost and the legacy of a town forever marked by tragedy.