People/prospector, magnate
Winfield Scott Stratton
Winfield Scott Stratton, prospector, magnate, from United States. Linked to gold.
The lucky break
Staked the Independence Mine on 4 July 1891 and became the district's first millionaire.1
Legacy
His Independence strike opened the way for investors such as Count James Pourtales later in 1891.1
Story cards
Timeline
- 1890 to 1891Cripple Creek gold rush2
Where next
Sources
- Cripple Creek Colorado Encyclopedia
- 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).