John C. Osgood

John Cleveland Osgood (March 6, 1851 – January 3, 1926) was an American industrialist who founded the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company and Victor-American Fuel Company. A self-made man, he has been called a robber baron. He also founded Redstone, Colorado.

Biography

Early life Osgood was born in Brooklyn, but moved with his father to Burlington, Iowa at age 6. He had a younger sister, Julia, and a brother, Charles. After his father died in 1859, he was sent to Providence, Rhode Island to live with family and attend school. At age 14, he was on his own, working in the office of a cotton mill where he gained business knowledge. He left for New York City at age 16 and clerked for a Produce Exchange Commission firm while attending night school. After three years there, he returned to southeast Iowa as cashier of the White Breast Fuel Company, then learned the banking business as cashier of the First National Bank of Burlington. At age 26, he took over the White Breast Fuel Company.

Colorado In the winter of 1882, Osgood was sent to Colorado to research that state's coal resources for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. He visited every mine in the state and absorbed every detail. Colorado had been a state for fewer than six years, and few people besides John Osgood had the vision to see the possibilities of coal. He began to obtain huge tracts of coal land, and formed the Colorado Fuel Company in 1887. The business grew quickly, and five years later, they merged with the Colorado Coal and Iron Company to form the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I), the largest in the state. The Bessemer iron works at Pueblo, Colorado became the headquarters of the new company.

A saloon was also part of the Club, with card tables and pool tables, but specific rules were strictly enforced. To avoid drunkenness, the "No treating" rule prohibited buying rounds of drinks. The only gambling allowed was penny ante poker and dime wagers on pocket billiards.

The Castle was part of a estate that also included servants' quarters, a gamekeeper's lodge, a carriage house, and a greenhouse. Two gatekeeper's lodges were built, one each on the north and south boundaries.

Osgood had lost control of CF&I, but he still owned the town of Redstone and Cleveholm. The new CF&I management was unsupportive of social programs, and Osgood was forced to abandon his experiment, devoting no time to the endeavor, and no subsequent social programs were ever attempted.

The mine operators steadfastly refused to negotiate with the union or agree to government arbitration. Over the course of a year, frustration and anger on both sides grew and led to the Ludlow Massacre in 1914. The historic dormitory in Redstone, which is independently listed on the National Register as Redstone Inn, is now operated as a resort inn, offering year-round accommodations.