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Leadville & Twin lakes Guide
Miner's Family Diary

Maureen Scanlon, Regional Director-Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin and long-time Leadville resident, provides a unique look into Leadville history through her family's diary. "Following are excerpts from my greatgrandmother's diary," says Maureen, "along with notes entered by my mother and grandmother.

May 16, 1860: We arrived at Kelley's Bar [near the present site of Granite] a few weeks ago. What a busy place. One can hardly cross the street for the wagons arriving with supplies, and people on horseback and foot, anxious to make their fortune. Several of our party built log cabins; others are in shanties made from the wagon lumber, in tents or under tree boughs-any shelter from the cold. Mister says there is enough gold for everyone. He showed me some of his finds-seems like very little for such hard work.

July, 1865: Mister and I are still here, a little further up the valley, although most everyone else has moved away. He still believes the big strike will come. They call this California Gulch- thought we had as much gold as California, but it soon played out. It is hard being here, supplies are scarce, the school closed, and few playmates for the children.

September, 1877: We moved up the gulch to the new Oro City [near the present site of Malta]. Mister believes "this is the place." People are snapping up land claims. It seems that terrible black dirt, which gets into everything, is really full of silver. Many friends have returned and once again the area is thriving. Horace Tabor, who had the general store in the old Oro City, is now quite wealthy. There is talk of appointing him mayor of the new town, called Carbonate Camp. He is busy building a bank, a post office, and a fine new home for his wife, Augusta.

October, 12, 1879: My, so many changes have occurred. We moved into town, renamed
Leadville, and Mister works in a hardware store. I watch the long lines of mule trains
struggling through the mud and snow to bring supplies. Hundreds of passengers arrive by
stagecoach everyday; other folk arrive by foot, with their belongings on their backs. It seems as though all roads led to Leadville. We have a telegraph system and telephone service to the businesses and mines. Mr. Tabor is building the Leadville Gas Illuminating Company that will light the streets and many of the homes. He also helped build a water system for the whole town.

Slipped in between the pages was a scrap torn from the 1879 City Directory, which indicated Leadville had: 31 restaurants, 17 barber shops, 51 groceries, 4 banks and 120 saloons.

October 1, 1897: We are under martial law because of the mine strikes. The men are
protesting the low wages of $2.50 a day and the 12-hour shifts. They leave home before
daylight and return after dark. It is so depressing. Thousands of men and their families came here from many countries to work in the mines: Slovenia, Germany, England, Ireland, Wales, Italians, and Austria. With so many workers and mine owners, the inevitable grievances surfaced; with grievances came walk-outs and strikes.

December 23, 1918: It has been almost twenty years since we laid Mother to rest. A
newspaper clipping in the diary reported over $82,000,000 was dug up, melted down, and shipped out in those early years. Oh, there is still plenty of ore, but never again will the district be considered ripe for easy wealth. The holidays are upon us and it is a time of uncertainty with the Great War and yet economic improvement with the mining at Climax.

March, 1944: The smelters are continuously belching smoke from their stacks. The smell is
terrible, but we are grateful to have the men at work. Molybdenum [a strengthening agent used in steel], lead and zinc are so important in the war effort.

October, 1987: For the first time in over a hundred years, we are moving away from Leadville and it seems fitting to pass the diary to my daughter. Climax has closed and the men have gone to jobs elsewhere. Mother took up writing during the First World War and stopped after World War II. This has been my only entry, but my daughter loves Leadville, its history, and its beauty. She believes people will come, walk in the footsteps of our forefathers and relish the stories. She has faith that mining will return. Leadville may be down, but she is not finished. Not by a long shot.