TAKE A SELF GUIDED SURFACE TOUR OF THE MINE AND SEE BABY DOE’S CABIN
You can see the original mining shaft and headframe used to pull Tabor’s extraordinary wealth from the ground. Then tour the newspaper-lined shack where Baby Doe lived out her days, her feet wrapped in burlap to keep out the cold. Her body was found frozen in the cabin after a blizzard. You can also tour a powder magazine and the hoist house at this site on the National Register of Historic Places.
Legends swirl around the Matchless Mine, the place where one of Leadville’s most notorious silver kings, Horace Tabor, struck it rich and where his mistress-turned-wife died alone and penniless in 1935.
Horace Tabor amassed great wealth almost overnight when he bought the Matchless Mine in 1879, which became one of the most productive silver mines of the era. Soon after, he started a scandal when he left his wife Augusta, a respected community leader, for the young, beautiful Elizabeth “Baby Doe” McCourt. Horace and Baby Doe married, with wedding invitations fashioned from solid silver, but their high-flying lifestyle was not to last. When silver prices crashed, their fortune vanished. He died in 1899, leaving Baby Doe and their two daughters destitute.
Find more on hours and admission.
GOLD PANNING OPPORTUNITY
Learn more about gold panning and get the opportunity to do it yourself!
LOCATION
The Matchless Mine is located 1.25 miles up East 7th St., entrance is on north side of the road just before the Mineral Belt Trail bridge road crossing. Be cautious using GPS guiding as it can often mis-lead you.
REHABILITATION
The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum has acquired grants and funding for continued rehabilitation of the Matchless Mine and Baby Doe’s Cabin. Throughout the season there will be closures as work continues, please check the website or call to verify hours.
