| Joanne --
We're not much help out here, are we? I just found your note, and
went to my bookshelves at home. The book _Colorado_Ghost_Towns is
hiding from me, and most of what I found in _Trips_on_Wheels_ and
the AAA _TourBook_ wouldn't be of much interest in this file.
Leslie Bergstrom in _Trips_ says that the district got its name
from accidents that happened to people and animals around the
stream on the Welty family's farm.
Gold was found in the extinct volcano by a survey in 1874, and by
Bob Womack in 1878, but he didn't file a claim until 1886. He
discovered the El Paso lode in 1890, in Poverty Gulch, and by 1891
there were three mines producing ore. During the peak years of
1899-1902 there were 475. (All info. courtesy of _Trips_.)
I'm sure my mother has something that would be of interest -- she
was born in the District in the now-lost town of Anaconda. The towns
of Cripple Creek and Victor are still there, but Anaconda, Elkton,
and a dozen others are now -- well, not even memories for most people.
Between fires, a flu epidemic, and the general rowdiness of mining
camps, I'm sure there are many spirits still wandering the barren
slopes of the Cripple Creek District. Why don't you tell us what
you've heard, and I'll keep looking for more to pass along.
-- Ed
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