People/prospector

Mary Catherine (Mollie) Gortner

Mary Catherine (Mollie) Gortner (1851–1917), prospector, from United States. Linked to gold.

The lucky break

In September 1891, walking up Poverty Gulch near Cripple Creek, she noticed pure gold laced in quartz. She was the first woman to stake a gold claim in her own name in the district.1

The downfall

Miners refused to work a vertical shaft with a woman on site, and an official survey report credited the discovery to Mr M. C. Gortner.1

Legacy

The Mollie Kathleen Mine worked until 1961 and still runs tours. Her son Perry held a third interest and managed it until 1949.1

Story cards

Timeline

  1. 1890 to 1891Cripple Creek gold rush2
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Where next

Mines

DiscoveredCripple CreekThe woman who staked her own gold claim at Cripple Creek in 1891.1

Events

Worked atCripple Creek gold rushHer Poverty Gulch quartz became the Mollie Kathleen Mine.1

Sources

  1. 2024 Inductees from Mining's Past Mining Foundation of the Southwest
  2. Cripple Creek Colorado Encyclopedia

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.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Underground mining equipment by Kaupo Kikkas, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: 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).