Posted by Frank Blaha on September 10, 1998 at 23:47:09:
In Reply to: Canfield, CO posted by Robert Kristle on May 30, 1998 at 21:42:26:
: Technically, I don't know if this a ghost town question or not, but I'm unable to come up with another explanation. According to an 1895 Atlas, Canfield, CO which was in Boulder Co. had about 300 residents, a post office and a train station. The post office archives indicate the post office closed in 1908 and after that Canfield seems to fall off the edge of the Earth. Does anyone know what happened to it? Is it now a ghost town, did the people all leave and all trace of the town then truly vanish, did the town simply change its name or be incorporated into some larger town, or did something else happen? Any assistance that anyone could provide would be truly appreciated. Thanks.
I believe it was a coal mining town, and was located just west of Erie, Colorado, on an old rail line heading to Longmont and other nearby coal towns. The main reason for the start of the town was the "Rob Roy" coal seam which Isaac Canfield and his brothers found. "Canfield" is still listed on some of the more detailed Colorado maps, although it may not have a post office. Coal mining in the area has been declining since the 1930s. There is essentially no coal activity in the area today. I believe that there are still homes there, with new ones coming close from Lafayette and Erie - I understand a lot of growth has occurred in that area recently. I am more familiar with Erie, but not for the last six years. Some information on Canfield can be found in "Once a Coal Miner" by Phyllis Smith (Pruett Publishing Company, Boulder, Colorado, 1989).