Redstone Coke Oven Historic District
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Redstone Coke Oven Historic District
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View south to Chair Mountain past remaining ovens, 2010
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 Location within Colorado
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| Location | Redstone, CO |
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| Nearest city | Aspen |
| Coordinates | 39°10′52″N 107°14′29″W / 39.18111°N 107.24139°WCoordinates: 39°10′52″N 107°14′29″W / 39.18111°N 107.24139°W |
| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1899 |
| Architect | Colorado Fuel and Iron |
| MPS | Historic Resources of Redstone |
| NRHP Reference # | 89002385 |
| Added to NRHP | February 7, 1990 |
The Redstone Coke Oven Historic District is located at the intersection of State Highway 133 and Chair Mountain Stables Road outside Redstone, Colorado, United States. It consists of the remaining coke ovens built at the end of the 19th century by the Colorado Fuel and Iron. In 1990 it was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Two hundred were built because the coal in the surrounding mountains was ideal for refining into coke. At their peak they were producing almost 6 million tons a year. The development was the beginning of the modern settlement of Redstone. There are very few coke ovens of their type remaining in the West; the ovens are themselves the only remnant of the sizable coking operation in the area, the largest at the time in Colorado.
Within ten years of their construction the ovens fell into disuse when the mines closed. Their support steel was removed during the scrap metal drives of World War II, and later they were used as living space by hippies who moved into Redstone. The possibility that some might be demolished to build a gas station eventually led Pitkin County to acquire the land in the mid-2000s, and since then some have been restored.
The remaining 90 coke ovens are arranged in a 600-foot–long (180 m) arc over a 4-acre (1.6 ha) area along the west side of Highway 133 south of Coal Creek just opposite where Redstone Boulevard crosses the Crystal River into downtown Redstone. There is a small parking area and interpretive plaque, the only contributing resource in the district other than the ovens. In the middle is a gate leading to the current facility of Mid-Continent Coal & Coke, which now owns the property.
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