New Castle, Colorado

New Castle is famous as the site of an underground coal mine that has been burning since 1899. That was back in the days when coal was the black gold of Colorado but the state legislature hadn't enacted any kind of safety regulations yet. Of course, as soon as the state enacted safety regulations, many of the mine owners shut down operations rather than work to make the mines safer. When the state finally acted to enforce those safety regulations (almost 20 years later), more mines shut down and with reduced supplies of coal nationwide, prices (and profits) went up.

The population of New Castle has more than doubled since 2000. New Castle straddles Interstate 70 along the Colorado River. Glenwood Springs is just up the road and most commercial development in Glenwood Springs these days is reaching down that road toward New Castle.

The old New Castle High School