Baby Doe and the Matchless Mine

[RGINN]

Baby Doe, the other woman that H.A.W. Tabor, Colorado Silver King, left his first wife for. He was the sole owner of the Matchless Mine on Fryer Hill east of Leadville, CO. The mine produced millions in silver in its heyday. When silver went bust in 1893 so did Tabor. Legend has it on his deathbed he told Baby Doe to hang on to the Matchless as someday it would produce again. She stayed on the property in a former superintendant's cabin, nearly destitute. Another company finally bought the property, but allowed her to stay on the property. In 1935 she died of heart failure and they found her frozen stiff as a board in this cabin. Recent core drilling showed silver still at depth on the property, but not in profitable quantities.

 

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[RGINN]

...and since I thought that place was spooky any way, use a little imagination and look at the fourth pic, the ore cars, and you can see Baby Doe lookin out the back window of the house, haha!

 

[ronwoodcraft]

Awesome Post RGINN! Great photo's, and love the history!

 

[tamrock]

Boy, they that got that place all fixed up now. I worked with a fella in the mines who was a school teacher for a long time in Leadville and he said his Grandma remembered Baby Doe as a recluse in Leadville. All the guys in the mine who had that fella as a teacher in Leadville thought he was a real dick. He told me he just couldn't take being a teacher anymore to a bunch of miners brats and done with a teachers salary in Leadville when everyone else was making better. He's still in town last I checked. He was a very knowledgeable historian of the region and I was always fascinated with the stories he would tell.

 

[kcm]

Thanks for the trip in your time machine!

We just got a new DVD delivered today, as my wife recently learned about a Dolly Parton movie called Coat of Many Colors. In the movie, their cabin was wallpapered with newspapers, just like this cabin. The newspaper looks in great condition on the walls. Did you happen to read any of the old print?

 

[RGINN]

I didn't feel comfortable walking farther into that room, kcm. You see that a lot in older buildings here in the high country as they used newspapers on the walls for insulation.

 

[kcm]

I didn't feel comfortable walking farther into that room, kcm. You see that a lot in older buildings here in the high country as they used newspapers on the walls for insulation.

Too bad - you probably missed out on that big sale at the local hardware store.

 

[VERDE]

Hey RGINN!! Was up in Leadville in the early 70's and saw the place!! They would let you go down in the mine for a short distance!! Got caught in a Hail Storm north of town in the range where the 10'th Mountain Division trained!! Pretty country back then!! Anyway, GOOD LUCK and GOOD HUNTING!! VERDE!!

 

[Old Dude]

I love anything historical and those pics surely fill that bill! My parents used to tell me about people using pages from Sears and Roebucks catalogs or Time Life magazines to cover walls and fill cracks in walls too!