One of my favorite spots in Leadville is the Matchless Mine.
Horace Tabor already owned a piece of many silver mines before
he bought the Matchless for himself in 1879. The Matchless was
a major source of Tabor's riches, producing up to $2,000 a day
in high grade silver ore. He was the most wealthy and powerful
of the "Silver Kings." He lost everything, which was about a
$9,000,000 fortune, in 1893 when the U.S. Government went to
the Gold Standard. $9,000,000 is a lot of money in today's
money, but it was a colossal fortune in the 1800s. Penniless,
Horace worked as the Denver Postmaster until appendicitis
killed him in 1899, putting his wife, "Baby Doe" and their two
daughters out on the street. His funeral was attended by
10,000.
The transition from Horace's first wife, Augusta, to the second
was a national scandal. While married, Horace was not a
faithful husband, he fell in love with Elizabeth McCourt Doe,
better known as "Baby Doe," divorced his first wife and married
Baby Doe. Tabor once commented to Baby Doe, "You're always so
gay and laughing, and yet you're so brave. Augusta is a damned
brave woman, too, but she's powerful disagreeable about it."
This love triangle was one of the most publicized of the
century.
After Horace's death and the resulting poverty, Baby Doe
persuaded the current owners of the Matchless to let her live
at the mine in a supply shack. She had dreams of repurchasing
the Matchless and even lobbied friends in Denver to help her.
That dream never happened. She died in March of 1935 of a heart
attack, found frozen after neighbors noticed no smoke coming
from her chimney. The story made newspaper headlines across the
nation.
The Matchless Mine and Baby Doe's cabin, located 1.2 miles east
of Leadville on East 7th street, is open 9 a.m.- 4:45 p.m.
daily Memorial Day through Labor Day and by appointment the
rest of the year. The one-hour tour is $4 adults, $1 for ages
6-12. Call 719-486-4918 for more information.
Make sure you visit "Boot Hill" at the Matchless!
For more info on the Tabors and the Matchless on the web, click
here, or
here,
or here.
The Black Cat Bed and Breakfast is
located at 250 Reva Ridge Road in Twin Lakes, Colorado, 81251. For reservations or further information, call us at
719-486-1235, fax719-486-1257 or email us at the
Black Cat!. We look forward to meeting
you!
