Call NumberCPHOTO141-2024-1579CreatorJessen, KennethDateJuly 31, 2019SummaryExterior view of abandoned wooden and stucco buildings with boarded-up windows. A sign affixed to the wooden building reads "NO TRESPASSING." Tall yellow flowers are visible in the foreground.Physical Description1 digital file : colorBorn-Digital or AnalogBorn-digitalSubjectAbandoned buildings--Colorado--El MoroGeographic AreaEl Moro (Colo.)Las Animas County (Colo.)Finding Aidhttps://archives.denverlibrary.org/repositories/3/resources/2088Type of MaterialDigital photographsOriginal Material Found in CollectionC PHOTO 141. Kenneth Jessen photo collectionNotesDerived title. Photographer's note: "In its push south through Colorado, the Denver & Rio Grande reached the El Moro site in 1876. It incorporated the El Moro Railway Company in 1877 to transport coal from the mine to the Trinidad area. The town of El Moro is located about 3.5 miles northeast of Trinidad close to the Purgatoire River and 1.5 miles east of I-25. Named after the moor-like appearance of nearby peat fields, El Moro started as the terminus for the railroad and was the primary supply point for the southern portion of Colorado and northern New Mexico. A town plat was filed for the town in the same year the rails reached the site by the Southern Colorado Coal and Town Company. It remained the southern terminus for six years before the railroad continued its construction south. About a half-mile south of El Moro, the Colorado Coal & Iron Company constructed six coke ovens, the first ovens in the southern part of the state. They were successful from the start. In 1879, the company added 200 more ovens, with civil engineer George Engle in charge of construction. Coal to fuel the ovens came from the mines at Engleville. The number of ovens grew to more than 350, and the coke was sent to either the Colorado Fuel & Iron blast furnaces in Pueblo or to smelters in Leadville.To improve the purity of the coke, a washer was constructed in 1880. A laboratory housed a chemist to analyze the quality of the coke.The El Moro post office opened in 1876, and in 1880, the town's name changed to Elmoro. It was subsequently changed back to El Moro. The post office remained active until 1933. In 1902, the 125 employed men and their families lived in 31 company-constructed cottages. A single-story brick public school building was constructed overlooking the camp to educate the town's 40 school-age children. El Moro also had a kindergarten. Located along Colorado 239 at El Moro Road, El Moro is not completely abandoned. Its occupied homes are scattered over an open rise, and the old railroad grade is still evident. A large, stone schoolhouse is now home to one family. A marker at El Moro notes that the Santa Fe Trail passed through the site."DonorGift; Kenneth Jessen; 2020.
Rights
Rights Statementhttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/CopyrightDPL holds copyrightCreditDenver Public Library Special Collections, [call number]Digital Reproduction Available for PurchaseYes
Jessen, Kenneth, Abandoned homes in El Moro (July 31, 2019). Denver Public Library Digital Collections, accessed 19/05/2025, https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/1826661
