"The MATCHLESS MINE (open daily; adm. 25$), E. on 7th Ave. to the junction with a dirt road, 1.4 m., L. here 1.5 m, was Tabor's most prized possession and one of the great bonanzas of the district. On Fryer Hill overlooking the valley, the property was purchased by Tabor in 1881 for $117,000 and netted him $10,000,000, paying $100,000 a month at times. A single shipment of ore from this mine, which Tabor's contemporaries had pronounced worthless, assayed 10,000 ounces of silver a ton. When Oscar Wilde visited the mine, he was met at the bottom of the shaft by a dozen miners, each with a bottle. All of the bottles made the rounds; after the twelfth drink, Wilde was cool and collected, and was "voted a perfect gentleman" by the somehat tipsy miners. Reapirs were made tot he durface plant and an electric hoist was installed in 1937, when the mine was reopened."
--- Colorado: A Guide to the Highest State, 1941
In 1860, gold was discovered in California Gulch on the outskirts of what is now Leadville, Colorado. The "Gold Rush" had begun. Thousands flocked to "Oro City", as the settlement was called, to stake their claim of the golden fortunes. By the mid 1860s, however, the vast numbers of prospectors quickly depleated the gold reserves.
Years later, in 1874, gold miners in Oro City discovered that "all that black stuff" in the sand that seperated from their gold search was actually silver bearing lead ore. Old gold claims were quickly bought up and the "Silver Boom" had begun. Millionaires, such as Horace Tabor, were made almost overnight.
Horace Tabor and his wife, Augusta, owned a general mercantile store in Leadville. Profits from his store allowed Tabor to invest in silver mining operations.
Tabor had stakes in many claims around the Leadville area, all with other investors. In September 1879, The Matchless Mine went up for sale, and anxious to own a mine completely on his own, Tabor bought it. The mine, however, had been sold a number of times, as it historical did not produce. Embroiled in many lawsuits, Tabor ended up paying over $30,000 just to clear the title,a s well as $117,000 for the sale price.
Faithful in his investment, Tabor ordered the mine reopened, but immediately faced flooded shafts. By June, the water problem had been resolved and the mine began operation. By the first of the year, the mine was producing no less then $2,000 a day in profit from silver.
Tabor's success made him a powerful man and politician in town. In 1880, Tabor met Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt Doe and one of the most scandalous affairs ensued. Tabor left his wife for "Baby Doe" and in 1883 his second marriage was legalized.
The repeal of the Sherman Silver Act in 1893, and a series of bad investments cost Tabor his fortune. He desperatley tried to maintain possession of the Matchless Mine, but lost that too to foreclosure. The "Silver King" now worked for $3 a day hauling slag at the local mines, and took a position as postman, in hopes the silver market would return and allow him to once again control the Matchless Mine.
Tabor died of appendicitis in 1899 before he ever got his beloved Matchless back, leaving behind his wife, Baby Doe, and their two daughters, Silver Dollar and Lilly, flat broke. Baby Doe managed to get permission to live at the tool shack beside the Matchless Mine shaft until she died of a heart attack in March 1935. Her frozen body was found in the shack when neighbors noticed no smoke from her chimney for a period of a week.
Now, visitors can explore the Baby Doe cabin and look at the Matchless Mine. Tours are available, last one leaves at 4:00 pm. To get to the Matchless Mine, follow 7th Street east from downtown Leadville about 1/4 mile. The mine and cabin are on the left before the metal bridge.