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Famous People

How Molly Brown Became Unsinkable

Born in 1867, Margaret (Molly) Tobin would rise from humble beginnings to celebrity status. Using her fame for philanthropic and political purposes, she would ultimately garner the title, “Unsinkable.” After…

Matchless Mine and Baby Doe’s Cabin

In 1879, silver tycoon, Horace Tabor, purchased the richest silver mine of the time, an investment that brought in $2 billion by today’s standards. However, wasteful spending by him and…

Jesse Fuller McDonald: From Engineer to Politician

Born in 1858 in Ohio, Jesse Fuller McDonald was a student of civil engineering and surveying. In 1879, he moved to Leadville to pursue a career in mining, though his…

Explore the Original Tabor Home

Horace Tabor and his first wife, Augusta, moved into a two-story clapboard house in 1877. Just two years later, Horace declared their home’s location ideal for his new project—the Tabor…

The Legacy of Horace Tabor

Horace Tabor’s life story is a testament to hard work but also a great anecdote about short-sightedness. From a simple stone-cutter, he would grow to become one of the country’s…

Visit Horace Tabor’s Greatest Feat: The Tabor Opera House

No expense was spared when Horace Tabor built Leadville’s iconic opera house in 1879 for the hefty price tag of $40,000, making it one of the costliest structures in Colorado…

Doc Holliday After the OK Corral

John Henry “Doc” Holliday was a dentist who suffered from tuberculosis. He moved to Tombstone, Arizona for its dry climate. There, he became a fierce gambler, befriended Wyatt Earp, and…

Many Famous Faces Passed Through Leadville

During its peak, Leadville was the second largest city in Colorado with 30,000 residents. Compared with today’s population of 2,600, it’s amazing to think about the sheer number of people…

The Famous Love Story of Horace and Baby Doe Tabor

Elizabeth McCourt, born in Wisconsin in 1854, was noted for being extremely charismatic and beautiful. In 1877, she married Harvey Doe. Together, they moved to Central City to work the…

Molly May: Leadville’s Most Famous Madam

Molly May, one of the most influential brothel owners in the west, was born in 1850. In her twenties, she traveled as a prostitute with a performance act from Cheyenne,…

Con Artist Soapy Smith Gets His Start in Leadville

Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith was a con artist, gangster, crime boss, and saloon and gambling hall owner who rose to fame while in Denver from roughly 1879 to 1892. Though…

Martin Duggan: Leadville’s Fearless Marshal

One of the west’s most fearless marshals came from a vagrant, lawless background, which probably made him better prepared to handle the trouble that fell upon Leadville during the great…