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The city of Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp on the southern slopes of Pike's Peak. Cripple Creek is 44 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is the county seat of Teller County. History
At an elevation of 9,494 feet and just below timberline, for many years Cripple Creek's high valley was considered no more important than a cattle pasture. Many prospectors avoided the area after the misnamed Mount Pisgah hoax, a mini gold rush caused by salting (adding gold to worthless rock). In 1891, however, rich ore was found and the last great Colorado gold rush was on. Thousands of prospectors flocked to the region, and before long W. S. Stratton located the famous Independence lode, one of the largest gold strikes in history. By 1900 Cripple Creek and its sister city, Victor, were substantial communities. During the 1890s, many of the miners in the Cripple Creek area joined a miners' union, the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). A significant strike took place in 1894, marking one of the few times in history that a sitting governor called out the national guard to protect miners from forces under the control of the mine owners. By 1903 the allegiance of the state government had shifted, however, and Governor James Peabody sent the Colorado National Guard into Cripple Creek with the goal of destroying union power in the gold camps. The WFM strike of 1903 and the governor's response precipitated the Colorado Labor Wars, a struggle that took many lives. The district produced more wealth than any other on the face of the earth up to the year 1930. By 1935, half a billion dollars in gold, at an average price of $20 an ounce, had been extracted. Gold mining continues in the area, but almost all the gold claims have been consolidated. Most of the old mines are played out, and open pit mining has been under way since 1994. With many empty storefronts and picturesque homes, Cripple Creek once drew interest as a ghost town. At one point the population dropped to a few hundred, although Cripple Creek was never entirely deserted. In the 1970s and 1980s travelers on photo safari might find themselves in a beautiful decaying historic town. A few restaurants and bars catered to tourists who could drive by weathered empty homes with lace curtains still hanging in broken windows. Colorado voters allowed Cripple Creek to establish legalized gambling in the early 1990s. Cripple Creek has a population of around 1500 residents and is currently more of a gambling and tourist town than a ghost town. Casinos now occupy many historic buildings. Casino gambling has been successful in bringing revenue and vitality back into the area. Research Tips
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