Portrait of Horace Tabor

People/magnate, prospector

Horace Tabor

Horace Tabor (1830–1899), magnate, prospector, from United States. Linked to silver, gold.

The lucky break

Held a share in a Leadville claim that proved a massive silver lode, which became the Little Pittsburg mine. Later mines included the Matchless.1,2,3

The downfall

The change to the gold standard cut the value of silver and his fortune fell. His divorce and remarriage to Baby Doe damaged his reputation. He died nearly penniless in 1899.1,2,3

Legacy

Leadville and Colorado silver history. The story that he told his wife to hold on to the Matchless is not supported by recent scholarship.1,2,3

Story cards

Drag to turn the globe

Where next

People

FamilyElizabeth 'Baby Doe' TaborThe divorce that made national headlines and ruined two reputations.1FamilyAugusta TaborShe earned the money that fed the family before he struck silver, then lost him to Baby Doe.4

Mines

OwnedLeadvilleHis one-third share of Little Pittsburg bought the Matchless.4

Sources

  1. Horace Tabor Colorado Encyclopedia (Colorado Humanities / CU Boulder)
  2. Elizabeth "Baby Doe" Tabor Colorado Encyclopedia
  3. File pages and licence metadata for portraits (via the Commons imageinfo/extmetadata API) Wikimedia Commons
  4. Augusta Tabor Colorado Encyclopedia

Pictures on this page: Horace Austin Warner Tabor - Brady-Handy.jpg, Mathew Benjamin Brady / Levin Corbin Handy (Public domain).

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

Keep exploring

Stories with these minerals

Lessons from historyBooms and busts: what mining history shows1859-2025Lessons from historyLucky breaks: the finds that almost did not happen1623-2009History of miningGold fever: the rushes that filled continents1848-1900Lessons from historyPrice shocks and the supply response1893-2025

All mining storiesThe world runs on rockAll mineralsMining by country

Pictures: South Africa: a crowd of people gathered outside The Goldfields offices in Johannesburg. 1896., Unknown (Wellcome Collection) (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Falu gruva, Lundberg, Bengt A / Europeana (CC0 1.0); Gold prospectors constructing a long box with a filter for panning gold. Process print after H.M. Paget, 1899., Henry Marriott Paget (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Pangkalpinang. Mijn 3b. Een reeks koelies bezig met het transporteeren van grond, Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0).