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Leadville, Colorado, Doc Holliday, Silver Kings, Horace Tabor, Baby Doe Tabor, Matchless Mine, Pittsburg Mine |
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There never has been, nor will there ever be again, a city like Leadville, Colorado.
If you are planning to visit Leadville in person you are in for a treat... if you are a
serious researcher of Colorado history or perhaps a genealogist, the odds are you will
find yourself researching Leadville... just about anyone and everyone who came west was
in early-day Leadville,Colorado at some time.
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Doc Holliday |
The famous Younger Gang lived here; Doc Holliday had his final shoot-out here; Bat
Masterson and the Earps were here. And of course perhaps the most famous rags-to-riches-
and-back-to-rags story began here with Horace and Baby Doe Tabor. As colorful as
Colorado’s early days were, Leadville typifies it more than any other boom town in
the state. Leadville’s story starts in 1859-1860 when the Slater Party made the $8
million gold discovery up the California Gulch.
The area exploded and thousands flocked to it for their share, and the volume of
prospectors working the area had literally exhausted all the gold reserves by the
mid-1860’s and were moving on to areas like Alma and Buckskin Joe, located over
Mosquito Pass. Little did they know at the time that "all that black stuff" that
seemed so difficult to separate from the gold in their pans, sluice boxes and cradles,
was actually silver bearing lead ore, and it wasn’t until two veteran miners,
Alvinus Wood and William Stevens from South Park recognized it’s value a number of
years later.
They began buying up old "worked out" gold claims, and by 1880
the silver boom had begun. Leadville quickly became the second largest city in the state
and the Carbonate Camp was clearly the most important mining center in Colorado.
Millionaires were made overnight... some for as little as a $37.00 grubstake investment
like Horace Tabor who became rich overnight with his grubstake interest of the Little
Pittsburg Mine. His rise to political power was one of many spawned from the wealth of
Leadville’s silver mines. Presidents and dignitaries held interests in many of
these mines which were producing hundreds of thousands of dollars in income for them
every day. |
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By June of 1893 however, the inevitable catastrophe happened. A number of circumstances
finally culminated in the price of silver dropping to almost nothing and the "silver
crash of ’93" as it has been nicknamed brought countless millionaires to their
knees - Tabor among them.
Leadville (8th Street) |
The era of top hats and tenderloins had ended. The story doesn’t end here, but for
those serious about learning more about this incredible city which still thrives today,
we encourage you to take a peek at our Leadville videos, which include "The
Colorado Gold Boom of 1860: Discovery of the California Gulch" and
"Leadville’s Story of Baby Doe Tabor" (a 4-tape internationally award
winning series which will boggle your mind).
Miners arrested during the bloody
miner’s strike in Leadville |
Doc Holliday’s last shoot-out with Billy Allen is featured in another award winning
documentary (Leadville’s Story of Doc Holliday) which details Doc’s life from
his birth in Griffin, Georgia to his death in Glenwood Springs and highlights his
activities in Leadville... and beyond.
If you are planning on visiting Leadville, and would like more information about it,
including lodging facilities, tours and other places to visit and things to do, please visit
www.GoldenBurro.com.
If you'd like to review our incredible
video collection about early Leadville, click here.
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Leadville, Colorado, Doc Holliday, Silver Kings, Horace Tabor, Baby Doe Tabor, Matchless Mine, Pittsburg Mine |
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This site is part of the
Universal Systems, Inc. network:
www.GoldenBurro.com ·
www.EducationalVideos.org ·
www.TopHatsAndTenderloins.com
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