Winfield scott stratton
Winfield Scott Stratton moved to Colorado and studied geology and metallurgy at Colorado College and the Colorado School of Mines. In 1872, he moved to Colorado Springs to work as a carpenter and joined the Carpenter’s Union, building furniture and homes during the winter.
Two years later, Stratton began prospecting for gold and silver in the summers, and while he was unsuccessful in San Juan County, he located the Martha Washington mine in Cripple Creek, which he sold for $80,000. He then filed a claim for the Independence Mine in 1891, using money from his sale to start work there. He found a gold vein close to the surface worth $3 million back then, which made him the first millionaire of the Cripple Creek Gold Rush. He sold the mine for $11 million in 1899.
Outside of mining, Stratton built and improved the Colorado Springs and Interurban Railway, which became one of the best streetcar systems in the country. He also constructed the city’s first professional baseball stadium. Many streets, parks, and buildings throughout the city are named after him to this day.
Stratton was known for his philanthropic contributions in Southern Colorado. He provided land to build Colorado Springs City Hall, the Mining Exchange Building, and the Post Office and Federal Courthouse in Colorado Springs, as well as helping to fund the construction of the El Paso County Courthouse. He regularly gave money to prospectors or others in need; he paid for schooling for a teen who was a talented violinist and provided all the laundresses in the town with bicycles. After the Cripple Creek Fire of 1896, Stratton paid for food and shelter for many left homeless by the fire. He is said to have written a check for $5,000 to "Crazy Bob" Womack, the prospector who first discovered gold at Cripple Creek, but was down on his luck. He also gave $20,000 to Horace A. W. Tabor when Tabor was broke.
Stratton was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame, and in 1967, into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Two years later, Stratton began prospecting for gold and silver in the summers, and while he was unsuccessful in San Juan County, he located the Martha Washington mine in Cripple Creek, which he sold for $80,000. He then filed a claim for the Independence Mine in 1891, using money from his sale to start work there. He found a gold vein close to the surface worth $3 million back then, which made him the first millionaire of the Cripple Creek Gold Rush. He sold the mine for $11 million in 1899.
Outside of mining, Stratton built and improved the Colorado Springs and Interurban Railway, which became one of the best streetcar systems in the country. He also constructed the city’s first professional baseball stadium. Many streets, parks, and buildings throughout the city are named after him to this day.
Stratton was known for his philanthropic contributions in Southern Colorado. He provided land to build Colorado Springs City Hall, the Mining Exchange Building, and the Post Office and Federal Courthouse in Colorado Springs, as well as helping to fund the construction of the El Paso County Courthouse. He regularly gave money to prospectors or others in need; he paid for schooling for a teen who was a talented violinist and provided all the laundresses in the town with bicycles. After the Cripple Creek Fire of 1896, Stratton paid for food and shelter for many left homeless by the fire. He is said to have written a check for $5,000 to "Crazy Bob" Womack, the prospector who first discovered gold at Cripple Creek, but was down on his luck. He also gave $20,000 to Horace A. W. Tabor when Tabor was broke.
Stratton was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame, and in 1967, into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.