Colorado's Cripple Creek Mining District was an incredible place, by nearly any standard that can be applied. Because of its peculiar ecological structure, the Pikes Peak regions was considered to be worthless for mining prospects. It flourished as a hay ranch for a time and as a timberline cow pasture. Due to its location in a recessed bowl, the cold months were usually fairly mild.
    In 1891, Cripple Creek has become the second-greatest gold-producing region of the world. It was out-produced only by the great Witwatersrand fields of the Transvaal in South Africa. By 1899, Cripple Creek's gold output amounted to two-thirds of all that was mined in Colorado. Gold from this area exceeded by at least 50% the total for gold recovered in all of California's Mother Lode Country.
    This book is filled with wonderful old photos, maps and the people who put Cripple Creek on the map.
    Three railroads, the Midland Terminal, the Florence & Cripple Creek, and the Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District Railway, were necessary to handle the volume of passenger and other traffic in and out of the area. A profusely illustrated chapter chronicles each of the three lines.

Copyright 2011 ~ Sundance Publications, Ltd. All rights reserved.