Rocky Mountain Fuel Company
Encyclopedia
The Rocky Mountain Fuel Company was a coal mining
company located in Colorado
, operating mines in Louisville
, Lafayette
, and other locations north and west of Denver. The mine was founded by John J. Roche to supply coal
to sugar beet
factories. During the 1930s, the company was the second-largest producer of coal by volume in the state of Colorado. However, the company was severely impacted by the Great Depression
, declining productivity of local coal deposits, and the increased popularity of natural gas
, and went bankrupt
in 1944.
The mine is notable among the many coal mines operating in the same region at the time for its leadership by Josephine Roche
. She inherited a minority stock ownership from her father upon his death in 1927, becoming vice president of the company in 1928 and president by 1929. Roche was a dedicated believer in labor union
s, and soon after becoming president she invited the United Mine Workers of America
back to Rocky Mountain Fuel Company's mines, offering top pay and taking actions to repair labor-management relations. This was to the great chagrin of fellow mine owners, who broke the unions in 1914 after years of intense and often violent disputes, culminating in events such as the Columbine Mine
and Ludlow Massacre
s. Roche's pro-labor policies, however, were effective - within a few years, the company's productivity per worker was the best in the state. After leaving the company in 1934 to enter politics, Roche returned in 1937, but even with the active support of her workers she was unable to save the company, which folded in 1944.
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
company located in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, operating mines in Louisville
Louisville, Colorado
Louisville is a Home Rule Municipality in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 18,937 at the 2000 census. Louisville began as a rough mining community in 1877, suffered through a period of extraordinary labor violence early in the 20th century, and then, when the mines...
, Lafayette
Lafayette, Colorado
The City of Lafayette is a Home Rule Municipality located in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 23,884 on 2005-07-01.- Geography :Lafayette is located at ....
, and other locations north and west of Denver. The mine was founded by John J. Roche to supply coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
to sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
factories. During the 1930s, the company was the second-largest producer of coal by volume in the state of Colorado. However, the company was severely impacted by the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, declining productivity of local coal deposits, and the increased popularity of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, and went bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in 1944.
The mine is notable among the many coal mines operating in the same region at the time for its leadership by Josephine Roche
Josephine Roche
Josephine Aspinwall Roche was a Colorado humanitarian, industrialist, activist, and politician. She was born in Neligh, Nebraska, and raised in Omaha, attending private girls' schools there before matriculating at Vassar College in 1904. There she double-majored in economics and classics, and...
. She inherited a minority stock ownership from her father upon his death in 1927, becoming vice president of the company in 1928 and president by 1929. Roche was a dedicated believer in labor union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, and soon after becoming president she invited the United Mine Workers of America
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
back to Rocky Mountain Fuel Company's mines, offering top pay and taking actions to repair labor-management relations. This was to the great chagrin of fellow mine owners, who broke the unions in 1914 after years of intense and often violent disputes, culminating in events such as the Columbine Mine
Columbine Mine massacre
The first Columbine Massacre, sometimes called the Columbine Mine massacre to distinguish it from the Columbine High School massacre, occurred in 1927, in the town of Serene, Colorado. A fight broke out between Colorado state police and a group of striking coal miners, during which the unarmed...
and Ludlow Massacre
Ludlow massacre
The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914....
s. Roche's pro-labor policies, however, were effective - within a few years, the company's productivity per worker was the best in the state. After leaving the company in 1934 to enter politics, Roche returned in 1937, but even with the active support of her workers she was unable to save the company, which folded in 1944.