Segundo is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Las Animas County,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population of the Segundo CDP was 100 at the United States Census 2020. The

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

( Zip Code 81082) serves the area.

History

Segundo was founded by Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I) as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

to house its workers for a local

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

. The town was the second

mining community A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendi ...

developed by CF&I in 1904 behind Primero and was referenced in the town's name, with ''segundo'' meaning "second" in Spanish. CF&I offered adequate housing for the time, and promoted

upward mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...

through its sponsorship of a

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

center, an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, small businesses, and a company store. Segundo was a prosperous town until the 1920s, when the population began to decline due to constant health issues related to

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

and outdated housing that lacked indoor plumbing. Declines in demand for metallurgical coke led to workers being laid off and, following a major fire in 1929, CF&I ceased their operations in Segundo. The town's population plummeted to the point that it almost became a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

.Glen D. Weaver and Ryan C. Graham, "Segundo, Colorado", ''New Mexico Historical Review'' (2008) 83#3 pp 323-351

Geography

Segundo is located west of

along Colorado State Highway 12 in the valley of the Purgatoire River. The Segundo CDP has an area of , all land.

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

initially defined the for the

References

External links

Segundo @ UncoverColorado.comSegundo @ SouthernColorado.infoLas Animas County website
{{authority control Census-designated places in Las Animas County, Colorado Census-designated places in Colorado 1904 establishments in Colorado

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links