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Bowen, Las Animas County, Colorado

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Bowen
Vintage postcard image of Bowen, Colorado, c. 1911
Vintage postcard image of Bowen, Colorado, c. 1911

Bowen is an extinct town located in Las Animas County, Colorado, United States.

History

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The Aylmer, Colorado, post office opened on March 23, 1900.[1] On August 7, 1902, an explosion of dust ignited by giant powder at the Bowen Mine killed 13 people.[2] The precise location of the town site is unknown to the GNIS,[3] but newspaper articles reporting the 1902 Bowen Mine Explosion place the town "about a quarter of a mile below the mine",[4][5] near Trinidad.

The name of the Aylmer, Colorado, post office was changed to Bowen on September 18, 1906, and it remained in operation until January 15, 1929.[1] The community took the name of Thomas F. Bowen, the owner of the Bowen Mine and a state legislator.[6]

The 1911 Colorado Business Directory described the town as "Coal mining town and station", population 200, on the Colorado and Southern Railway.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Bauer, William H.; Ozment, James L.; Willard, John H. (1990). Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989. Golden, Colorado: Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation. ISBN 0-918654-42-4.
  2. ^ Sherard, Gerald E. (2006). "Pre-1963 Colorado Mining Disasters" (PDF). Denver Public Library. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bowen (historical)
  4. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bowen Mine
  5. ^ See, e.g. "Mine Disaster at Bowen, Colo". Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News. August 8, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Dawson, John Frank (1954). Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 10.
  7. ^ "1911 Colorado Business Directory, Bowen, Las Animas County". The Gazeteer Publishing Co. Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via US Genweb Archives.
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