Buried Beneath Lakewood: The Forgotten Story of Colorado’s Satanic Mine

The history of Colorado is widely associated with mining, as the state became populated in its infancy by gold, silver, and coal miners, along with their families, in the 1800s.

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The majority of these mines have since been shut down, including one mine with an unconventional name that was eventually changed following a tragic event.

History of Colorado’s Satanic Mine

Yes, the mine was actually called the Satanic Mine. Established just before Colorado’s statehood in 1872 by Otis Rooney, the Satanic Mine was located in present-day Lakewood and was accompanied by numerous buildings and a four-story hotel in which the miners lived.

For nearly 50 years, the Satanic Mine operated successfully as a coal mine and under that name. However, tragedy would strike just short of a half-century after the mine opened, which would change that.

Tragedy Strikes Colorado’s Satanic Mine

On December 3, 1921, a fire broke out inside the Satanic Mine, which triggered an explosion fueled by the ever-present coal dust.

Unfortunately, this explosion would claim the lives of six miners. Following the tragedy, the Satanic Mine would be renamed the Bluebird Mine, a name that it would keep until it was shut down for good in the 1930s due to the Great Depression.

Colorado’s Satanic Mine Today

Since being shut down in the 1930s, what was once the Satanic/Bluebird Mine sits underneath an open space in Lakewood, Colorado.

Read More: Exploring Colorado's Mining History At Creede Museum

Concerns surrounding exactly how the mine was sealed up prompted an investigation by the state’s Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety in 2023, and the organization’s drilling efforts wrapped up in December of that same year.