The story of what happened after the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado

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<p>(Photo: Courtesy of Steelworks Center of the West)</p>
<p>The women&#039;s heavyweight contest at the annual field day of 1919 in Trinidad for the region&#039;s Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. miners. Woman at right (standing) is Annie Rollins from Toller, who won the competition with a weight of 302.5 pounds. </p>

One-hundred-and-one years ago today, the Ludlow Massacre in southern Colorado shocked people around the country. Striking coal miners and their families living in a tent city were attacked by company guards, leaving 21 dead.

Photo: Ludlow Fawn Amber Montoya
Fawn Amber Montoya is a history professor at Colorado State University and editor of “Making an American Workforce: The Rockefellers and the Legacy of Ludlow.”

The massacre was part of ongoing violence during the Colorado Coalfield Wars. Miners were demanding safer working conditions and better wages from Colorado Fuel & Iron Co.

John D. Rockefeller, the majority owner of the company, had little response at first. That changed and Rockefeller felt pressured to show compassion.

Colorado State University history professor Fawn Amber Montoya edited and contributed to “Making an American Workforce: The Rockefellers and the Legacy of Ludlow.” She spoke with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner.