Life in Ludlow: Families
A
fter they were evicted from
the company-owned coal camps, the strikers set up approximately 12 tent
colonies the length of the strike zone. They lived in these colonies for
nearly 14 months. The strikers were primarily immigrants from Southern and
Eastern Europe, who had been brought in as strikebreakers in 1903, although
the UMW had counted 24 distinct languages in the camps.
The Ludlow Tent Colony consisted of about 200 tents holding 1,200 miners
and their families, one of the largest of the colonies.
The Ludlow Tent Colony before the massacre on April 20th,
1914.
Striker family at Ludlow.
Historic photos of burned or demolished tents show that the tents were constructed over wooden joists laid directly on the ground. Shallow ditches and berms of earth piled around the tent edges helped to anchor the tent and provide insulation.
Detail of family.
African-American family at Ludlow.
Family at Ludlow.
Detail.
Detail.
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