Historical Survey Report 1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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World War I brought an increase in miner's wages due to the shortage of labor, yet costs also kept pace because of the shortage of railroad cars tied up for the war effort. The coal industry, which had been taken over in the area by the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company;in 1913, continued to suffer financial ailments. In 1927, another major and violent strike occurred at the Columbine Mine against the R.M.F.C. Josephine Roche, the new company director, pioneered an. unprecedented era of industrial relations by negotia- ting a contract with the II:M.W. which allowed the organization bargaining rights_in exchange for a loan offered to the company. However, the company faced not only the onslaught of other price cutting competitors, but also the new era of oil and gas develop- ment which finally doomed the coal mines by the mid 1950's. Although the Boulder valley experienced a brief oil boom in the early 1900's which produced nearly 100 wells by 1903, with a strike near Louisville causing excitement in 1902, only a dozen wells remained active by 1923. But in 1928, a natural gas pipe- line was completed from Texas to Denver which eroded a substantial market for domestic and industrial coal energy, posing a greater threat to the coal industry than the local oil boom had been. However, as the automobile gained popularity, it began cutting into railroad revenues and correspondingly reduced the demand for coal. The railroads reached their peak year around 1914. Rocky Mountain Fuel Company correspondence during the 1940's re- vealed the further problems faced by the coal industry following the Burlington Railroads decision to add -eight diesel engines to its operations between Denver and Chicago in 19414. These engines had 50% more pulling power than their steam/coal powered prede- cessors.? Colorado experienceda profound period of growth slow down during the interwar period from roughly 1919 to 1939, accentuated by the Depression years. Louisville, by having its economy so closely linked to to an already suffering coal industry, was partic- ularly effected. World War II completely reversed the prevailing trend as large numbers of government contracts and federal agencies brought renewed jobs, money, and investment into the state. Lou- isville, which from its establishment had been favored by its