Champion |
Dolly B |
Doris |
Matchless
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The "Matchless" features one King Bed and a private bath
with claw foot tub and shower. This room also has a view that
overlooks Twin Lakes.
Rental Rates: (based on single or double occupancy price/ two-night minimum stay)
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$195 |
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THE MATCHLESS MINE
When Horace Tabor, was forty-seven years old, he bought the "Matchless Mine"
from a few poor miners at a cost of $117,000, it was called "Tabor's Folly
by his associates, since it had been traded and bartered so many times before
for non-production. Nevertheless, after Tabor sunk a second shaft to a depth
of 150 feet, a very rich body of silver ore was discovered. Soon the Matchless
Mine was netting some $2,000 a day for Horace Tabor and his beloved wife, Baby Doe.
Through all these years of luxury and happiness, the Matchless was the pride and
joy of the Tabor's. It seemed that no matter how much was spent the Matchless
would replace it. Tabor became synonymous with silver and Leadville.
His silver carried him first to Mayor of Leadville, then to Lieutenant Governor of
Colorado, and even to the United States Senate. Tabor is remembered in history as
a "silver baron", never as the placer miner who once sweated over a shovel in the
mud of California Gulch for a pittance of gold per day.
As the years rolled on, Tabor's failure to anticipate silver
dropping along with poor investments and the repeal of the Sherman Silver Act of
1893, claimed his entire $9,000,000.00+ fortune but he held onto the Matchless Mine.
Stories claim that on his death bed Tabor uttered, "Hold on to the Matchless...it will
pay millions again." For the remaining 36 years of life, Baby Doe Tabor held
steadfast to the belief that some day the Matchless Mine would produce again.
In March, 1935, the final chapter of this story was written. Alone and in poverty,
the aged widow, Baby Doe was found frozen in her beloved home-The Matchless Mine in
Leadville, Colorado.
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Notes of Interest:
THE MATCHLESS IS GONE 1903
(Leadville's true grit miners magazine 1884-1984 Vol. VI.)
The Last Remnant of Millions Passes out of Widow's Hands Due to Foreclosure.
After a long litigation and by a decision of appeals written by Judge Gunter the
Matchless Mine, the last remnant of the once great Tabor fortune, passed out of
the hands of Mrs. H.A.W. Tabor and will hereafter be owned and operated exclusively
by James W. Newell. Mrs. Tabor was unable to clear judgment amounting to a little
over $13,000 from the property. Mrs. Tabor will continue to live at the Matchless
Mine until future notice.
In 1899 appendicitis claimed the life of Horace Tabor in Denver, Colorado
In 1935 Baby Doe Tabor received her last rites in the Annunciation Church,
Leadville, Colorado
Mr. & Mrs. Tabor are buried in Denver, Colorado
The Matchless Mine & Museum is open for tours just 1¼ miles east of Leadville.
The Mine is open 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. daily Memorial Day through Labor Day and by appointment
the rest of the year. The tour is one hour. Call 800-933-3901
for more information.
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