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~`-A^ ~~ ~ ~ • v~ ~" "lJ Revised <br /> Julq 28, -; 1981 <br />2.04.4 Cultural and Historical Resource Information <br />• <br />There are no known cultural or historic resources listed or eligible for <br />listing on the National Register of Historic Places within the mine plan <br />or adjacent areas. This conclusion is based on conversations with the <br />Colorado HiStoriCdl Preservation Office and a letter from the Colorado <br />Historical.,Society dated 9/23/SI (see ,folio*.aing page}. <br />Based on information found in the National Register of Historic Places, <br />it has been determined that the Huerfano County Court House and the <br />Huerfano County Jail in Walsenburg are the only sites in the County <br />which have been nominated or have been determined eligible for the <br />National Register. The Huerfano County Court House and Huerfano County <br />Jail are located in downtown Walsenburg over ten miles from the mining <br />area. No archaeological resources have been surveyed or are known to <br />exist in the area of the mine plan operations. <br />Historical Resources <br />• Commercial coal mining began near Walsenburg, Colorado at the Walsen <br />Mine in 1881. Only a few years earlier, the Denver Rio Grande Western <br />Railroad reached the town of Trinidad, Colorado. The area around <br />Walsenburg and Trinidad became Colorado's most important coal producing <br />region by 1890. <br />During the coal development period, the largest mines in the <br />Walsenburg/Trinidad area were owned by the Colorado Coal and Iron <br />Company, which merged with the Colorado Fuel Company in 1982 to form the <br />Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I). CF&I built a complex of smelters <br />and steel mills near Pueblo, Colorado. The smelters and steel mills of <br />CF&I used most of the coal production from the Walsenburg and Trinidad <br />mines. <br />The steady expansion of the p ~ulation in Walsenburg and Trinidad because <br />of the coal mining activities also created a local market for <br />. agriculture products. Likewise, the railroad brought ranchers and <br />farmers into contact with distant markets. Along with coal mining, the <br />~~~- ~~ <br />