The Fourth Annual Coal Camp Excursion will hit the road on Saturday, May 24 for an in-depth look at the mine and camp sites located in Huerfano County.

This very popular program of the Bessemer Historical Society (BHS) has visited the sites of company coal camps in Florence, Huerfano and Las Animas counties in the past. This year's return to Huerfano County will highlight not only the physical sites, but also look into the lives of the people who lived in the camps (towns). Many of these individuals were first-generation Americans from a variety of countries. They faced hardships and happiness. They endured strife and strikes, and many went on to economic prosperity. Their descendants now populate the cities and towns of Colorado and are from every socioeconomic level of society.

There are more than 90 mine sites in Huerfano County alone, including Tioga, Pictou, Walsen, Cameron, Ideal, Rouse and Solar. Some of these sites are only depressions in the earth, while others feature the remains of structures, or perhaps only foundations.

On the way to Huerfano County, we will include a side trip to the screening plant at Rocky Mountain Steel Mills' Reservoir No. 2 at Stem Beach. This reservoir, along with Reservoir No. 3, has supplied the Pueblo steel plant with water for more than 100 years. Lunch will be in Walsenburg following a tour of the Walsenburg Mining Museum.

Excursionists will meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Steelworks Museum of Industry and Culture, 215 Canal St., Pueblo. Cost for the tour is $55 for society members and $65 for nonmembers, and includes the guided tour, companion tour book, lunch and refreshments on the bus. Seating is limited and reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information call the Bessemer Historical Society at 719-564-9086.

Click here to view flier.