Thurman

Thurman, Colorado is a tiny unincorporated hamlet in southern Washington County, about nine miles south of Anton at the intersection of County Roads 3 and CC.

History

Thurman began as a Mennonite farming settlement around 1902, when Amish Mennonite families from Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois homesteaded in this part of eastern Colorado seeking inexpensive agricultural land. A post office opened in July 1904, confirming its status as a recognized rural community, and a Mennonite meetinghouse was built about a mile north of the settlement by 1888 to serve the growing congregation. Standard references do not clearly document the origin of the name “Thurman” for the community, and no single namesake is firmly identified. Given the era and patterns in the region, the name likely came from a settler family or borrowed town name rather than from a railroad official, with the Mennonite settlement and congregation quickly making “Thurman” synonymous with their local community. Thurman once had more than 150 residents at its height in the early 20th century, reflecting a thriving farm and church-centered hamlet. After a devastating F4 tornado on August 10, 1924 killed ten people gathered in a home and destroyed part of the settlement, the town declined sharply; the post office closed that same day, and today only a handful of farmhouses remain, with no separately counted population beyond scattered rural residents. Thurman is considered a Ghost Town with a population of 0.

Major Industries

Agriculture has always been the core economic activity at Thurman, centered on dryland farming and livestock.

Geography

Thurman is located at GPS Coordinates: 39.596 N, 103.2174390° W. It is at an elevation of 4731.

Obscure and Notable Facts

The Thurman Mennonite church building was ultimately moved in 1986 to Joes, Colorado, where it became part of Eastern Plains Bible Fellowship.