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Victor is a city in Teller County, Colorado, United States. The population was 445 at the 2000 census. Although in some respects Victor now almost resembles a ghost town, it was once, and indeed still remains, an active gold mining town. Victor is located in the heart of Colorado's gold country. Near the city are the largest gold mines in the Cripple Creek mining area. Though many of the older mines are abandoned, new modern ones still exist. There is one major commercial mining facility (operated by the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company), in addition to several locally-owned mines, all of which provide employment and revenue for the surrounding communities. Though Victor hit a historic low in the early 2000s the town is now making something of a comeback. With new businesses, renovation of historic buildings, and an up-swing in the local economy and property values, Victor is regaining some of the life once nearly extinguished. History
Victor was founded in 1891, shortly after Winfield Scott Stratton discovered gold nearby. The town boomed as the surrounding Cripple Creek mining district quckly became the most productive gold mining district in the United States. Although Victor's fame was overshadowed by that of its neighbor, Cripple Creek, many of the best gold mines of the Cripple Creek district were located at Victor, including Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill and the Portland mine. The workforce became heavily unionized after the militant Western Federation of Miners (WFM) conducted a significant strike in 1894. A subsequent strike in 1903 had such an impact that it came to be called the Colorado Labor Wars. The WFM's union hall in Victor still stands, and is undergoing renovation, with telltale bullet holes left intact. Many of the historic buildings date to 1899 (having been rebuilt then, after a fire in August of that year destroyed much of the community). Included among these are the St. Victor Roman Catholic church (now used only rarely), the First Baptist Church of Victor (once owned by the Woods brothers, Victor’s founders), the Victor Hotel (which contains the oldest commercially operating elevator in the state), and several others. The town declined steadily in the 1900s, as the gold mines became worked out, and the purchasing power of gold (the price was fixed at $20.67/troy ounce) declined. Gold mining increased in 1934 when the federal government raised the price of gold to $35/ounce, but gold mining was shut down during World War II as nonessential to the war effort. Some mines opened after the war, but all mines in the district closed by 1961. Some small-scale minig restarted after the government stopped regulating the price of gold. The Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company began the first large-scale open pit mining in the district in 1994. The open pits are located a few miles north of Victor. Mining continues today under the ownership of Anglo Asanti Gold. Research Tips
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