Ludlow Massacre Memorial, (sculpture).

Ludlow Massacre Memorial, (sculpture).

Jones Brothers Company, fabricator.

Springfield Granite Company, contractor.

Ludlow Massacre Memorial, (sculpture).

Dedicated May 1918.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: Barre granite; Base: concrete.

Sculpture: approx. 172 x 114 1/2 x 90 1/2 in.; Base: approx. 9 x 145 x 120 in.

(Front of sculpture, within symbol with concentric circles, incised lettering:) UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA (cross)/ONE AND INDISSOLUBLE/(Lower:) IN MEMORY OF/THE MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN,/WHO LOST THEIR LIVES/IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE/AT LUDLOW, COLORADO/APRIL 20, 1914/ERECTED BY THE/UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA (On south side of sculpture, within symbol with three ribbons on the lower right, incised lettering:) G.C.I.A./(plaque missing?)/OF/A/ORG. 1877/UNITY/JUSTICE/PROGRESS

(Bronze plaque on top back of sculpture, raised lettering:) VICTIMS OF/LUDLOW MASSACRE/APRIL 20, 1914/(eighteen names follow, with ages)/(Bronze plaque on bottom back, raised lettering:) ON APRIL 20, 1914, THE STATE MILITIA UNLEASHED AN UN-/WARRANTED ATTACK ON STRIKING COAL MINERS AND THEIR FAMILIES/LIVING IN A TENT COLONY AT THIS SITE. ELEVEN CHILDREN AND TWO/WOMEN SUFFOCATED IN A CELLAR BENEATH A TENT WHEN FLAMES/ENGULFED THE OVERHEAD SHELTER. MILITIA RIFLE AND MACHINE/GUN FIRE CLAIMED THE LIVES OF AT LEAST 5 STRIKERS, AN 11 YEAR/OLD BOY, AND AN 18 YEAR OLD PASSERBY/THE UNEXPECTED ATTACK WAS THE FATEFUL CLIMAX OF/MINERS ATTEMPTING TO ACHIEVE FREEDOM FROM OPPRESSION AT/THE HANDS OF COAL COMPANY OFFICIALS. MINERS WERE FORCED/TO LIVE IN COMPANY OWNED CAMPS, BUY FROM COMPANY OWNED/STORES AND EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN IN COMPANY DOMINATED/SCHOOLS. MINERS WORKED UNDULY LONG HOURS UNDER HAZARDOUS/CONDITIONS FOR MEAGER PAY./ON SEPT. 23, 1913, MINERS STRUCK IN PROTEST OF THESE/CONDITIONS, CALLING FOR RECOGNITION OF THE UNITED MINE/WORKERS UNION, EVENTUALLY, THE ALLEGED PEACE KEEPING/MILITIA BECAME INFILTRATED WITH COMPANY GUNMEN, LEADING/TO THIS--THE LUDLOW MASSACRE/UMWA L.U. 9856 DIST. 15. unsigned

A capped granite stele on a rectangular granite pedestal with a grouping of three figures on the bottom front steps. On the first step, a man stands wearing a shirt with rolled-up sleeves, his proper right hand on his belt. Sitting on the third step behind him, on his proper right, is a woman with upswept hair, wearing a full-length dress. She is turned to the side, embracing a child in her lap with her proper right hand, her proper left elbow resting on the fourth step, her hand supporting her cheek. The monument is mounted upon a short, square base, with flower vases on each corner. A picket fence surrounds the monument.

History -- United States -- Labor History

History -- United States -- Ludlow Massacre

Occupation -- Industry -- Mining

Outdoor Sculpture -- Colorado -- Ludlow

Administered by United Mine Workers of America, District 12, 6525 West 44th Street, Wheatridge, Colorado 80033

Located 3/4 mile west of I-25, Ludlow, Colorado

The $6,500 memorial marks the spot where eighteen people were killed, including striking coal miners and their families, on April 20, 1914 during the "Ludlow Massacre." The miners had been striking for better conditions and a recognition of the United Mine Workers Union when the attack by the State Militia occurred. The incident is part of what has been referred to as the "Coalfield War of 1913-1914" or the "Colorado Industrial War of 1913-1914." IAS files contain transcription of names on plaque on rear or sculpture; and related newspaper articles from May 1918.

The memorial was seriously vandalized in May of 2003; restored and rededicated June 5, 2005. IAS files contain related articles, including excerpts from Pueblo Chieftan (July 16, 2003), United Mine-Workers Journal (May-June 2003); and Pueblo Chieftan/Rocky Mountain News (June 6, 2005) .

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Colorado survey, 1994.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, CO0001, 1989.

Monumental News, Oct. 1918, pg. 451-452.

Monumental News, Oct. 1918, pg. 452.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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