Rockvale and Coal Creek are only two of the original coal camps of Fremont County. Other coal mining towns still alive are Williamsburg, Prospect Heights, Brookside, and Brewster. Other towns, gone but not forgotten, are Nushaft, Emerald, Radiant, Bear Gulch and Fremont.

At one time, there have been nearly 70 coal mines in Fremont County. Most were independent mines, but Victor American, Cañon City Coal Company, Colo. Fuel and Iron, and the for-runner Colorado Coal and Iron Company, were opened in Fremont County.

Coal Creek

Workers pose for a photo at the Rockvale mine in the early 1900s. The town was never a closed camp. It had private owned stores and houses.
Workers pose for a photo at the Rockvale mine in the early 1900s. The town was never a closed camp. It had private owned stores and houses. (Beverly Kissell Harris / Courtesy Photo)

Jesse Fraser first discovered and claimed an out cropping of coal on the hill side North of Coal Creek in 1860. He sold his claim to T.F. Musser in 1867. In 1871, a mine was opened in the southern end of Coal Creek by Allen and Canfield. When this mine played out the Nushaf mine opened. Miners could go underground from the Coal Creek mine, Canfield mine, Nushaft mine and Rockvale mine by a tunnel.

Coal Creek was incorporated Jan. 10, 1882, and was first platted Nov. 21, 1887.

A school was built and was soon over populated. A larger two story was built on the same property. It had grades 1st thru 8th. Students went to school there till the district consolidated with RE-2 Florence.

The school building was the last structure left standing for two blocks when in June 29, 1907 a fire broke out at the Alf Salmon Bottling Works, half a block north of the I.O.O.F. Lodge #32 building. The fire consumed most of the business district and many of the homes, leaving 300 people homeless. The lodge was in the middle of the fire, burning off the roof and inside. The building itself was built of local sandstone. The fire destroyed the post office, town hall, along with all documents, 3 churches, two hotels, saloons, macaroni factory, 102 family homes,grocery stores, livery stables and many other buildings. The school was saved, by the fire department using dynamite to destroy the house to the north and it stopped the fire from continuing up the main street. By doing this about half the town was saved.

In 1908 the IOOF Hall was rebuilt and in 2006 it was put on the State Register of Historical Places and a grant was received to repair and replace needed items, such as foundation repaired, fire escape, floors, a kitchen, dining area. It is still an active Lodge. The original building was built in 120 days in 1879 of native sandstone at a cost of $5,629.00. The first floor has a dining room, kitchen and stage area, restroom.

The stage has an original Harv Roberts Westerfield hand-painted Florence merchants advertising canvas with the Canon City IOOF Hall in the center of the painting done in August 1923. The wood and coal burning stoves are original. The hanging wool rug was made in the rug shop at the prison in 1956 and donated by PM Henry Burton. On the second floor the original lodge room is housed. IOOF, Rebekah, Order of Eastern Star, The Redmen's Lodge, Scottish Thistle Lodge No. 1, PEVE, Knights of Pythias and Coal Miners Union also met there. The school 8th grade graduations were held there also. It is now available to rent for parties, receptions, meeting, etc. Bill Worthen and his wife have spent many hours, weeks, months to see the restoration done and continues to oversee the building.

Coal Creek had a newspaper named the Hawkeye. During the day the miners all worked together, but at the end of the day, that ended. There was Scotch town, Little Italy, and others. There was a ball park, race track, and a railroad depot. Now only the Lodge, Orecchio store and school house are the orginial buildings, houses south of the school and on Scotch hill and toward the east part of town.

Across the street from the Lodge, Tom Orecchio built the store to house his Walters Beer distributorship in 1908. From 1916 to 1931 it was a candy store and ice cream parlor, and finally a grocery store run by the Falgien family, Jean Wates and the Knisley family, closing in the 1980's.

The school was used as a club meeting room and Post Office for many years. A new building was built to house the Post Office and the building was remolded to include the new town hall and club meeting rooms. A new fire station has been built and many new homes. A park in the south end of town has been added with restrooms and a ball park and playground.


The town of Rockvale was homesteaded by William Horace May in 1863. He arrived in Fremont County from Vermont and first farmed in the Beaver Creek area. After getting flooded out twice he moved to higher ground and settled in what is now Rockvale. Colonel May built a cabin by the banks of Oak Creek where he used his land for grazing. He dug a ditch from south east of town from the Oak Creek to water his crops. Not realizing there were millions of tons of coal underneath. Small outcroppings were found and mining in a small scale continued until 1880 when the property was leased to the Canon City Coal Company.

On July 10, 1882, William H. May and W.D. Thatcher filed with Fremont County Clerk and Recorder for incorporation and Rockvale became an incorporated town Sept. 11, 1886. Mr. May built a building and became the Post Master. He also had a drug store and barber shop in the building. The Post Office is still in the same building, over 125 years.

The mine was acquired by Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation in 1896 and operated until 1927. It was dismantled, but can still be seen where it used to by the ash dump, railroad tracks are. Rockvale was never a closed camp. It had private owned stores and houses. There was the CFI store and meat store, but you could shop at any store. The mine did have buildings built for single men to rent, a bath house for the miners. The mine employed 300 men, producing 1200 tons a day, requiring the Sante Fe Railroad to pull two trainloads per day. Rockvale at its peak had 1500 residents.

In 1917, the Miner Club/ YMCA was built for the towns people. It had bowling alley in the basement (ground floor). The second story was a spacious lobby that could hold 300 people. There was a stage for plays, bands, and movies. The top floor was used as a living area for the secretary or assistant.

As in most towns in that era, Rockvale had a major fire in 1919. While showing a movie in the town hall on the second story the film caught fire. No one got seriously injured, but it did destroy that building along with several businesses on that block and the hotel and boarding house across got charred. The building that was the firehouse burned, the jail burned and all important documents were lost.

Up on the "hill" the school house was built. It first consisted of a log cabin. Soon after a four room frame building was replaced and three small cottages. Soon they were crowded with 350 students and a brick two story building was built in 1910. For two years they had a kindergarten class, but then needed more room so quit having kindergarten. Rockvale did have a 9th grade for a few years, but then 9,10,11, and 12th grades went on a bus to Florence. Now one of the cottages are used as a Community Room, the other two cottages were moved to Penrose and one to Elm Avenue in Canon City. The brick building was torn down when the schools consolidated with RE-2 in Florence. The frame building is going to be remolded into a Town Hall and meeting room this year.

Colonel May's cabin has been moved to the park as it was on railroad property. The YMCA is a private resident. The Catholic Church was built in 1891, but has been closed. The Methodist Church was torn down. The Vezzetti Store is still standing. It was well known for their home made Italian Bread. It was made in the house and baked in the back yard in the brick ovens five days a week. It was sold in their store and several restaurants in the county and Pueblo. The Vezzetti family was well known in Fremont County. Martin ran the store, Bill baked bread, Martha was an registered nurse, Mary taught fifth and sixth grades in Rockvale, Max had a bakery in Brookside, Annette was a school teacher and wrote the book "King Coal".

Rockvale had a popular base ball team, a band that played for dances and parades. They had a first aide team, fire department many clubs and lodges. Rockvale and Coal Creek were made up of many nationalities. The teachers also taught the men and women how to speak English in the evenings at the YMCA. The YMCA was also used as a hospital in 1921, Dr. Williamson took it over as a hospital and used the women of the town as nursing assistants. A nurse came from Pueblo hospital to help and the ladies of the town cooked and served meals to the ill. Rockvale had the fewest number of deaths from the flu of all the coal camps. He lost only 40 of the 900 cases.

The only known tipple left standing from all the 70 mines is the one behind the Fawn Hallow. All the mines have been closed and sealed. Many old ash dumps can be seen around the county. Houses from the coal camps can be see around the county. The Moschetti store on Chestnut Street in Cañon came from Radiant and a front porch entrance added. Many homes from Chandler can be seen in Cañon City. Many in the Prospect Heights area and older streets of Cañon. The house at the Union Highland Cemetery and one at Fawn Hallow were moved from Emerald. Most homes that were owned by the mine company were four rooms, kitchen, living room and two bedrooms.