Yesterday I went to Ludlow, CO to scope out a potential excursion for my 8th graders for next year. The plan for excursions in my class is to go to sites of historical interest in Colorado and try to take students through how an archaeologist might make observations at a site.

This is the first step in excursion planning - I did this with our trip to the Nevadaville ghost town. It’s important to see if it’s accessible, if there’s enough there for students to make observations about, if it connects with the unit and the sources in the right way.

So here’s what I learned: this is a hugely valuable site, and I could not take students here.

It is fairly untouched since the massacre, to the point where the char from the firebombing is still present. A few things have been excavated, but it’s not safe for kids to walk.

It is also one of the more traumatic places I’ve ever visited. Half the victims were under the age of 10. It’s extremely easy to picture the event and the aftermath. I don’t believe in ghosts but this place is For Sure haunted.

Anyway, if you’re a Coloradan and you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth the 2.5 hr drive down from Denver and hopping some barbed wire. It’s horrible and important and can be the start of a deep dive on the history of the Colorado Labor Wars.

And if you’ve never heard of the Ludlow Massacre (believe me, you’re not alone!) and would like to be sad and angry and better understand the connection between policing and the protection of capital without regard for human life, here’s a resource: https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ludlow-massacre/

And here’s an article from the New Yorker from 2018 about why we should still care about Ludlow: https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-ludlow-massacre-still-matters/amp