Overview & Early Settlement
Located in the far southern expanse of Washington County, Colorado (at the intersection of County Roads 3 and CC, roughly 9 miles south of Anton), Thurman was established around 1902.
The small settlement grew primarily as a close-knit agricultural farming community founded by Amish and Mennonite families who migrated to eastern Colorado around the turn of the 20th century. At its peak, Thurman was a modest rural hub boasting a population of over 150 residents. It had a local post office (opened in July 1904), a Mennonite church, and surrounding farmsteads scattered across the High Plains.
The 1924 Tornado Tragedy
Thurman’s history is inextricably linked to one of the most tragic natural disasters in Colorado history.
On the afternoon of August 10, 1924, an F4/EF4 tornado—widely considered the deadliest tornado on record in Colorado—swept through the area. The twister struck a Sunday gathering at the farm of Henry Kuhns, located east of Thurman, where 27 women and children were gathered inside while the men had driven to check on neighboring farms.
The tornado destroyed the home, killing 10 people at the scene (mostly children from the Yoder, Kuhns, Birkey, and Garrett families) and injuring several others. One additional victim died months later from complications, bringing the total loss of life to 11.
The disaster dealt a devastating blow to the tiny community. The U.S. Post Office at Thurman was officially closed, and over the following years, many surviving families moved away. By the mid-20th century, the remaining Mennonite congregation had consolidated and relocated its church building to nearby Joes, Colorado, rendering Thurman an unincorporated ghost town.
Thurman Cemetery
Today, the Thurman Cemetery serves as the primary physical landmark remaining from the original settlement.
- Establishment & Location: Situated at the southeast corner of County Roads 3 and CC (Latitude 39.61°, Longitude -103.217°), the cemetery was established around 1888, pre-dating the formal naming of the Thurman townsite.
- Interments & Records: The cemetery contains over 160 recorded interments. It serves as the final resting place for many of the area's earliest homesteaders, particularly those of the Mennonite faith.
- Historical Significance: Among its most notable gravestones are the shared markers for the victims of the 1924 tornado—including the Yoder children (Blanche, Vera, Robert, and baby Ray), the Kuhns family (Maggie, Stella, and Delmar), and 14-year-old Nellie Birkey.
- Present Condition: Although the town surrounding it has largely vanished into open prairie, the Thurman Cemetery remains active, well-maintained, and indexed by local genealogical societies and weather history researchers.