CALCITE, COLORADO Quarry ruins near Howard, CO

Howard, Co Texas Creek Vallie Bridge Cotopaxi Western Fremont County Calcite, near Howard On Fremont County Road 4 Coaldale Hillside

CF&I Quarry at Calcite The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company opened Calcite in 1903. There were more than 85 persons on the 1910 Census as living in Calcite, many who could neither read nor write English.

Calcite at its most populated: It was a nice little community & you know they had the railroad. It went across the back of the Broken Arrow & up through Keaton’s. That's where the railroad was. They had trains go up there & get the limestone. Helen Carroccia, Interview

All I know they had the big company store, their own P All I know they had the big company store, their own P.0., the company store was owned and run by CF&I. & they had clothing & groceries in the store. Helen Carroccia, Interview

Quarry as it was Calcite was formed as Howard's Quarry in 1904 as a quarry town owned by the CF&I for quarrying limestone. It was abandoned in 1930. The railroad grade follows CR4 and snakes back and forth as it approaches the site.

They built all these little homes and everybody just moved in, paid rent a month, nobody bought any houses, when we were living there. Helen Carroccia, Interviews

They had their big club house which they had skating, roller skating in there, & they'd show old time movies. I remember Jack telling me about that because he went there to school. Helen Carroccia, Interview

Interviewer: The bridge was down this way, they had a bridge? Helen - They sure did. Of course this highway wasn't through here then. (*Highway 50)

CREDITS Many of these pictures were found on the website: Coloradopast.com The kiln pictures were furnished by Linda Goddard, Howard. The vintage pictures are from the Mabel Kneivel collections. Courtesy WFHS

Quarry as it is now. The fence at the upper camp has been removed and there is even an outhouse in the overgrown forest. Many structures remain at the upper camp.

Web site: Calcite, Colorado Ghost Town - Calcite, Colorado July 7, 2010 Posted by Webmaster   Calcite is divided into three areas : A lower, middle, and upper camp. The lower and middle camps are on private property and fenced.

Limestone kiln at Calcite

Limestone kiln at Calcite

Limestone kiln area

Calcite Limestone kiln

Limestone Kiln

Calcite Limestone Kiln

Calcite Limestone Kiln

Stories of Calcite from one who lived there: “She kept boarders, men who would come in, you know, they kept coming from Italy. They'd come right from Italy, come up there & go to work. They worked at the quarry up there. That's where the quarries were.” quoted from Helen Carroccia, Interviews.

Calcite ruins of housing and Community Buildings

Ruins at Calcite

Stories from the past: That’s where he started was at Calcite. Then they had - - they didn’t have a church up there. They all had to go to Salida to church. But the Catholic Nuns would come up & teach them Catechism up there. They'd have Sunday school up there. That's all. (Helen Carroccia, Interview)

Ruins on the cliff wall

Lower camp ruins

Out of the past: Interviewer: - What buildings did they hold the Sunday school classes in? Helen: - It was in the big clubhouse. The foundation is still there. Interviewer: - The club house was obviously a multi use building, Helen Carroccia, Interviews

Stone Foundations and basements of tenant housing

Calcite stone foundations

Calcite Quarry Ruins

CF&I – Industry for the State They had this limestone quarry and they needed the rock for their steel mill, so that's what they did. Just went up and opened it up, built all those homes. That's the way it was at Concrete, CO. It was the same way near Portland.

Calcite, Colorado ruins UPPER CAMP

Private Ownership, now

Good old Days? Jack said they had a certain place to cut their ice out of the river and up at Calcite they used to cut ice & they had a big building too, they'd store their big blocks of ice. Helen Carroccia, Interviews

Signs put up by Forest Service

Calcite foundation ruins

Endangered area The village of Calcite was abandoned in 1930 and the railroad pulled it's rails about the same time. The railroad bed still wanders throughout the homesites and developments that have since been built, and the ruins are as you see them here. Fremont County Heritage Commission Carol McNew