Ludlow, CO Ghost Town – Ludlow Massacre Site

Located about twelve miles north of Trinidad, Ludlow, Colorado, is a ghost town known for an infamous event in 1914. A former mining camp, it was the location of the Ludlow Massacre.

Situated in Las Animas County, there are several original buildings and homesteads still standing. There is also a United Mine Workers of America Memorial honoring the fallen victims. Before the massacre, Ludlow was largely a tent city for miners and their families. It had a population of about 1200.

Ludlow is positioned just before a canyon in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The notorious Spanish peaks are visible from town. You can visit the ghost town remains and Ludlow Monument year round.

Ludlow Massacre Site

Camp Ludlow Colorado Ruins 1914 After Massacre — Ruins of Camp Ludlow, CO in 1914. Photo: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

On April 20, 1914, there was a violent massacre in Ludlow, CO, north of Trinidad. The Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel and Iron Company guards shot striking miners, burning their tents to the ground. Women and children were killed. Known as the Ludlow Massacre, 25 people lost their lives, 11 of which were children.

The massacre was the height of the Colorado Coalfield War, which began a year earlier in 1913. Two coal mining counties Las Animas and Huerfano were the center of the conflict. The United Mine Workers of America led the strike against the Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I), owned by Rockefeller. They were upset over the horrible working conditions. Both parties led attacks back and forth over the years.

After the Ludlow Massacre, miners sought their revenger over ten days in places all the way from Trinidad north to Louisville. Federal soldiers arrived in April 1914 putting an end to the violence, but the strike continued thru December. Estimates of up to 200 people died. It was dubbed as the

deadliest strike in the history of the United States.

Ludlow Colorado Tents Before Massacre 1914 — Ludlow Tent Colony in early 1914 before the massacre fire.

Getting There

From Trinidad – Ludlow is easily access from Interstate 25 year round. Take I-25 north from Trinidad for 13 miles to exit 27. You’ll drive on County Road 44 until it becomes County Road 61.5. You’ll reach Ludlow within 1.5 miles of the highway.