LATUDA
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LATUDA |
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NAME: Latuda COUNTY: Carbon ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Summer is quite warm. In winter the snow can be impassibly deep. Snowy season is between mid-November and late-April. BEST TIME TO VISIT: April to November, |
COMMENTS:
The entire town of Latuda is located on private property, but every part of it is visible from the road. View it from the road only, or if you need to go onto the property, the owner lives just up the street, and you can ask for permission to enter the property. The coordinates of Latuda are: 39.70832N 110.95465W REMAINS: Multiple intact buildings, small trestles, foundations, and a mine portal. |
| The town of Latuda goes back to year 1914, when a man named Frank Latuda opened up Liberty Fuel Company, a coal mining company. The first mine was located so high up on the side of the canyon that the coal, along with workers and equipment, were transported via tramway to and from the railroad below. In 1917, a more accessible mine was built below, which ended the use of the old mine. In this new mine, multiple mining innovations were tested for the first time, including a mechanical loader and an air-sand coal cleaning plant. In 1918, there were 20 homes around the mine, and the town was called Liberty. The water for the mine was supplied by a small spring nearby, but drinking water was shipped in from Helper. The mine office was constructed in 1920. The top floor of the office was used as a living space for visiting executives. In 1922, there were 55 homes in Liberty. In 1923, a school was built. That same year, the town of Liberty was renamed Latuda (after Frank Latuda) due to the fact that the US Post Office had too many towns named Liberty, and were demanding a new name. For many years, the mine had about 110 workers, and the town had 300-400 residents. One day in 1927, multiple avalanches in quick succession killed many people and obliterated a section of homes. In 1945, indoor plumbing began to be introduced to the town. In 1954, a large part of the mining operation was shut down. Nearly 5 million tons of coal had been produced by this point. A few families remained in Latuda. In 1966, the entire mining operation in Latuda shut down, and Liberty Fuel Company closed down. In 1967, the town of Latuda was entirely abandoned. Some time between 1967 and 1969, a group of kids were scared by what they believed was a ghost, and one of them blew up the mine office with some explosives from the mine. All that is left of that building now is a stairway and a pile of concrete slabs. Submitted by: Alex Barber |
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