Florence High School - Husky La Bran Yearbook (Florence, CO)

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Many wagons of this sort were used to help miners. In the heyday of the gold boom, water towers played important roles during the daily train runs from Florence to Cripple Creek. Claim Scares Miners In the years 1890 and 1891, it a looked for awhile that Cripple ? Creek’s vast gold fields might never be discovered. Not too many people paid attention to L 2 Bob Womack, a soft-spoken cow- i boy who worked at a high valley j ranch in Cripple Creek. Bob split his time between ranching and prospecting and truly believed there was gold in the area. In 1890 Bob struck the vein he had been looking for, in Poverty Gultch, and called it the El Paso Lode. But it was two months be- J fore anyone took interest in Bob’s ore specimens. Even after miners began the rush to Cripple Creek, the doubts lingered. Everyone remembered the 1884 “Mt. Pisgah hoax” — an unfortunate incident of a “salted” claim which brought miners in droves only to disappoint them. The salted claim was actually at Mt. McIntyre farther down the valley, but the press reported it as Mt. Pisgah — and that meant the area Bob Womack’s gold came from. Abo, experienced miners reminded everyone that gold had never been found in an area with the make up of Cripple’s land. In fact, experienced miners had a terrible time finding gold there. Cripple Creek became the center of Colorado’s mining attention for decades. The gold millionaires invested their wealth in the state, particularly in Colorado Springs. Cripple Creek’s last gold mine ceased operation in the early 1950’s, but there is known wealth in that high mountain valley that may be tapped £ another day. ; i Located approximately 30 miles north of Florence, Cripple Creek is now one of Colorado’s leading X tourist attractions. UK— ■ WW «V---W 1.1

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Railroads, Gold Create Colorado Scars Railroads and trains are something every town and state, no matter how small or modern, have depended on at one time. Florence used the railroad for transporting oil while Colorado relied on the train to bring tourists to the Centennial State. To look at the rails today no one would guess that something now practically useless, once caused statewide trouble. Construction of Fremont County railroads began around 1874. Two companies, the Rio Grande Western and the Santa Fe, were both building. .However, when they reached the Royal Gorge there was room for only one narrow gauge railroad track. This began the dispute as to the right-of-way of the gorge. Although there was no bloodshed, no man worked in the area without a gun. The Santa Fe eventually laid tracks first. However, in the legal battle, which reached the Supreme Court, the Denver and Rio Grande won. They had to pay the Santa Fe $1,400,000 for the labor and material. Since then the tracks have traveled infinite miles to a standstill. The Royal Gorge narrow guage train track runs underneath the world's highest suspension bridge.

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Florence Boasts Second Well The oldest operating U.S. oil well produces four to five barrels a day.