Cripple Creek Mining Boom
CRIPPLE CREEK MINING BOOM
CRIPPLE CREEK MINING BOOM began in the early 1890s southwest of Pikes Peak in Colorado, on a former cattle ranch. Robert Womack, a cowboy who prospected occasionally, discovered a promising vein of gold in January 1891. Spring brought many prospectors. On 4 July, W. S. Stratton staked the Independence claim that was to bring him wealth and preeminence as a mine operator. The gap between the mines' wealthy investors and its poorly paid miners, along with an influx of new workers in 1893, led to serious strikes in 1894 and 1904. The district's gold output reached $50 million in 1900 and thereafter declined. The Cripple Creek mines closed in the early 1960s.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Neuschatz, Michael. The Golden Sword: The Coming of Capitalism to the Colorado Mining Frontier. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986.
Rodman, Paul W. Mining Frontiers of the Far West, 1848–1880. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963.
LeRoy R.Hafen/f. b.
See alsoBoomtowns ; Gold Mines and Mining ; Mining Towns .