1927 Colorado Mine Wars

1927 Colorado Mine Wars

The Colorado Mine Wars Serene, Colorado - November 21, 1927 The Columbine coal mine north of Denver was, by the 1920’s, the largest and most productive mine in Colorado. Next to the mine was a company town called Serene where the workers lived. Miners were working up to twelve-hour days for six days a week under dangerous conditions. In 1927 union leaders decided to strike, demanding a pay increase from $6 to $7.50 per day and more accountability in verifying each miners’ output, which helped to figure what they were paid. The company responded by hiring strikebreakers and surrounding Serene with fencing and barbed wire to keep out union agitators and protect the strikebreakers who were now living there. On November 21, a crowd of five hundred unarmed strikers marched to the gates of Serene, intending to march through the town. They were met there by armed mine guards and members of the Colorado State Police, a volunteer law enforcement group. As the crowd surged towards the gate, shots were fired overhead as warning. Soon, a machine gun fired from inside the fence, leaving six miners dead and twenty-three seriously injured. The strike ended the following May with miners receiving a $7 per day wage.

1927 Columbine Massacre

By | 2023-05-01T15:43:48-07:00 May 1st, 2023|1. Blood In the Streets|Comments Off on 1927 Colorado Mine Wars

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