The Cripple Creek Gold Rush was a period of gold production in the Cripple Creek area from the late 1800s until the early 1900s. Mining exchanges were in
Cripple Creek,
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
,
Pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
and
Victor. Smelting was in
Gillett,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
, and
(Old) Colorado City. Mining communities sprang up quickly, but most lasted only as long as gold continued to be produced. Settlements included:
*Alta Vista - founded in 1894 three miles south of Victor, site of the narrow gauge classification yard, abandoned in 1912 with the closure of the
Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad.
*
Altman - Founded in 1893 at 10,620 feet elevation between Bull Hill and Bull Cliff, near the Pharmacist, Deadwood, Zenobia, Burns, South Burns, Isabella, Buena Vista and Victor gold mines. Population peaked by 1897 at 2,000. Largely abandoned by 1910.
*Anaconda - Founded in 1894 in Squaw Gulch, near the Anaconda, Mary McKinney, Morning Glory, Chicken Hawk, Dolly Varden and Doctor Jack Pot gold mines. Highest population was about 1,000 in 1900. Destroyed by fire in 1904.
*Arequa - Oldest townsite in the Cripple Creek District, founded before 1890 between Beacon Hill and Squaw Mountain.
*Barry - Founded in 1891 in Squaw Gulch. Highest population was a few hundred in 1893. Abandoned by 1900 after gold ore processing mills closed.
*Bull Hill - Site of the classification yards of the
Midland Terminal Railway
The Midland Terminal Railway was a short line terminal railroad running from the Colorado Midland Railway near Divide to Cripple Creek, Colorado. The railroad made its last run in February 1949.
Background
From 1887 to 1918, Colorado Midland Ra ...
from 1894 to 1949.
*
Cripple Creek
*Cameron - Founded in 1900, home of Pinnacle Park amusement park, served by both the
Midland Terminal Railway
The Midland Terminal Railway was a short line terminal railroad running from the Colorado Midland Railway near Divide to Cripple Creek, Colorado. The railroad made its last run in February 1949.
Background
From 1887 to 1918, Colorado Midland Ra ...
and
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District Railway, abandoned by 1910.
*Eclipse - Grew at the bottom of the gulch at the Economic Gold Extraction Company chlorination process gold extraction mill, at the end of the tunnel from the Gold Coin mine through Squaw Mountain. The mill and town burned in 1908.
*Elkton - Grew up adjacent to the Elkton and Cresson gold mines from 1893 until about 1916. In 1904 the town had a population of 2,500. All three railroads, the
Florence & Cripple Creek,
Midland Terminal, and
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek, passed through Elkton.
*
Gillett - Active community between 1894 and 1905. Residents mostly worked for the nearby Cripple Creek Cyanide Company gold extraction mill or the
Midland Terminal Railway
The Midland Terminal Railway was a short line terminal railroad running from the Colorado Midland Railway near Divide to Cripple Creek, Colorado. The railroad made its last run in February 1949.
Background
From 1887 to 1918, Colorado Midland Ra ...
. Site of the only bullfight held in the US, in 1895.
*
Goldfield - Founded in 1895 by the owners of Portland gold mine at the foot of Battle Mountain and Bull Hill. Population grew to 3,500 by 1900.
*Independence - Founded in 1894 adjacent to the Hull City, Vindicator and Findley gold mines, named for the Independence gold mine.
*Lawrence - Founded in 1892 along Wilson Creek, south of the location where Victor would later be built. Site of a gold extraction mill, brick yard, and slaughterhouse.
*Midway - At 10,487 feet elevation, adjacent to the Vista Grande stop of the Golden Circle Railroad used by miners working at the Wild Horse and Bull Hill gold mines.
*Mound City - Settled in 1891 around a cluster of gold ore processing mills at the confluence of Squaw Gulch and Cripple Creek, south of Cripple Creek town, deserted by 1900.
*
Victor
*Winfield - Also known as Summit or Stratton, a company town built in 1900 by
Winfield Scott Stratton
Winfield Scott Stratton (July 22, 1848 – September 14, 1902) was an American prospector, capitalist, and philanthropist. He discovered the Independence Lode near Victor, Colorado on July 4, 1891, and became the Cripple Creek Mining District ...
, owner of the Independence gold mine.
See also
*
Timeline of mining in Colorado
Colorado mining history is a chronology of precious metal mining (e.g., mining for gold and silver), fuel extraction (e.g., mining for uranium and coal), building material quarrying (iron, gypsum, marble), and rare earth mining (titanium, tellu ...
*
Pike's Peak Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 ...
References
American gold rushes
History of Colorado Springs, Colorado
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