W. S. Stratton
Encyclopedia
Winfield Scott Stratton (July 22, 1848 - September 14, 1902) American prospector
, capitalist
, and philanthropist
. He discovered the Independence Lode
near Victor, Colorado
on July 4, 1891, one of the richest gold mines ever located on earth, and became the Cripple Creek district's first millionaire in 1894.
, Stratton arrived in the Colorado Springs, Colorado
area in 1868 and worked as a carpenter. He descends from the Windsor, [Conn.] line of the Stratton family. His marriage to Zura V. [Stewart], in June 1876, ended shortly after the wedding when Stratton declared that he was not responsible for his wife's pregnancy, and sent her back to her parents. He set out following the gold and silver rush
es in Colorado, but without success. On hearing word of gold on the south slope of Pike's Peak
he made his big strike on July 4, 1891, near the present town of Victor, Colorado
, in the Cripple Creek mining district.
Stratton had a hard time getting started developing Independence mine
, but once going, it was like an underground bank. Not only was Stratton rich, he was generous. After the Cripple Creek fire of 1896, Stratton paid for food and shelter for the thousands left homeless by the fire. He wrote a check for $5,000 to “Crazy Bob” Womack, the prospector who first discovered gold at Cripple, but was down on his luck. He gave $15,000 to Horace A. W. Tabor when Tabor was broke. However, he tired of having people pester him for money, and he became reclusive and eccentric. He drank and read a great deal, but almost never had guests or went out socially.
In 1900, Stratton sold the Independence Mine
to the Venture Corporation of London
for $10 million. The Venture Corporation incorporated the property as Stratton's Independence Ltd. and sold shares on the London stock exchange. The ore reserves were discovered to be less than previously thought in late 1900, and the share price crashed. Venture Corporation later sued the Stratton estate, claiming that the mine had been salted, but lost in the U. S. courts.
When Winfield Scott Stratton died on 14 September 1902, he left the bulk of his estate for the establishment of the Myron Stratton Home, for "the aged poor and dependent children;" named for his father Myron Stratton. This bequest was not popular with many. After extended litigation from many, including his son, the Venture Corporation, and thirteen women who claimed to have been secretly married to Stratton, only 6 million was finally available; but the home was established successfully in 1913.
Stratton's other legacies include the Colorado Springs & Interurban Railway, a trolley system connecting Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs; the ground on which the current Colorado Springs City Hall stands on; and money to complete the Short Line railroad.
A bronze statue of Stratton by Nellie Walker
was placed on the grounds of his estate in 1909. The sculptor of the work ended up living at the Myron Stratton Home for the last years of her life. Another casting of Walker's statue of Stratton stands in downtown Colorado Springs.
Stratton was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame
.
Places named after Stratton include:
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
, capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. He discovered the Independence Lode
Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill
Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill is a historic mining site near Victor, Colorado on the south slope of Battle Mountain.-Production output:...
near Victor, Colorado
Victor, Colorado
Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States. The population was 445 at the 2000 census.Victor is in the heart of Colorado's gold country, home to two of the major gold mines in the Cripple Creek mining district...
on July 4, 1891, one of the richest gold mines ever located on earth, and became the Cripple Creek district's first millionaire in 1894.
Biography
Born in Jeffersonville, IndianaJeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
, Stratton arrived in the Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
area in 1868 and worked as a carpenter. He descends from the Windsor, [Conn.] line of the Stratton family. His marriage to Zura V. [Stewart], in June 1876, ended shortly after the wedding when Stratton declared that he was not responsible for his wife's pregnancy, and sent her back to her parents. He set out following the gold and silver rush
Colorado Silver Boom
The Colorado Silver Boom was a dramatic expansionist period of silver mining activity in the U.S. state of Colorado in the late 19th century. The boom started in 1879 with the discovery of silver at Leadville...
es in Colorado, but without success. On hearing word of gold on the south slope of Pike's Peak
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County in the United States of America....
he made his big strike on July 4, 1891, near the present town of Victor, Colorado
Victor, Colorado
Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States. The population was 445 at the 2000 census.Victor is in the heart of Colorado's gold country, home to two of the major gold mines in the Cripple Creek mining district...
, in the Cripple Creek mining district.
Stratton had a hard time getting started developing Independence mine
Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill
Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill is a historic mining site near Victor, Colorado on the south slope of Battle Mountain.-Production output:...
, but once going, it was like an underground bank. Not only was Stratton rich, he was generous. After the Cripple Creek fire of 1896, Stratton paid for food and shelter for the thousands left homeless by the fire. He wrote a check for $5,000 to “Crazy Bob” Womack, the prospector who first discovered gold at Cripple, but was down on his luck. He gave $15,000 to Horace A. W. Tabor when Tabor was broke. However, he tired of having people pester him for money, and he became reclusive and eccentric. He drank and read a great deal, but almost never had guests or went out socially.
In 1900, Stratton sold the Independence Mine
Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill
Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill is a historic mining site near Victor, Colorado on the south slope of Battle Mountain.-Production output:...
to the Venture Corporation of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for $10 million. The Venture Corporation incorporated the property as Stratton's Independence Ltd. and sold shares on the London stock exchange. The ore reserves were discovered to be less than previously thought in late 1900, and the share price crashed. Venture Corporation later sued the Stratton estate, claiming that the mine had been salted, but lost in the U. S. courts.
Legacy
Stratton's other legacies include the Colorado Springs & Interurban Railway, a trolley system connecting Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs; the ground on which the current Colorado Springs City Hall stands on; and money to complete the Short Line railroad.
A bronze statue of Stratton by Nellie Walker
Nellie Walker
Nellie Verne Walker , was an American sculptor best known for her statue of James Harlan in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol, Washington D.C.-Early years:...
was placed on the grounds of his estate in 1909. The sculptor of the work ended up living at the Myron Stratton Home for the last years of her life. Another casting of Walker's statue of Stratton stands in downtown Colorado Springs.
Stratton was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame
National Mining Hall of Fame
The National Mining Hall of Fame is a museum located in Leadville, Colorado, USA, dedicated to commemorating the work of miners and people that work with natural resources...
.
- Stratton Park, Colorado Springs.
- Stratton Hall at Colorado School of MinesColorado School of MinesThe Colorado School of Mines is a small public teaching and research university devoted to engineering and applied science, with special expertise in the development and stewardship of the Earth's natural resources. Located in Golden, Colorado, CSM was ranked 29th, in America among national...
, completed in 1904, was named after Stratton, who gave the school its first philanthropic gift of $25,000. He had been appointed as a CSM trustee in 1899 and was elected president of the board in 1901. - Stratton Spring; a mineral spring drilled to a depth of 283 feet completed February 21, 1936 at the loop where the trolleys turned around at 955 Manitou Avenue in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
- Winfield Scott Stratton Post Office in Colorado Springs; named by an act of Congress in 1995; Stratton had sold the land the post office was built on to the federal government at a fraction of its value with the understanding that it would be used for the post office.
- Stratton Elementary School in Colorado Springs.