Colorado. Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine continued

The mine was named for the woman who found the gold and made the official claim in her own name in 1891. This was an unusual event for a woman during that time in history. Finding gold was special enough, but for this tenacious woman to appear at the claims office filing the papers as the owner of the mine was quite remarkable.

The mine is fully maintained but is no longer actively in production and is primarily focused on providing tours to visitors. Now visitors can tour the underground mine and see the gold veins in a completely natural state. The mine is still filled with gold waiting to be mined. The tour guide said that mine geologists say that less than half of the gold has been mined from the site. The children loved the notion of being surrounded by millions of dollars worth of the precious metal. We enjoyed considering the amazement the miner would experience when striking a deep and wide vein of gold.

While touring and hearing the history of the mine the children were delighted to be able to touch the examples of gold ore specimens. We had a lively discussion of history, science, geology and the challenges of being a miner 100 years ago. While on the tour the children saw demonstrations of the mining process and how it has evolved with the passing of time.

The mine tour is an easy pace and there are no steps to climb or descend while touring the underground mine. People of all ages were participating and enjoying the tour the day we visited. The tour lasts an hour. Tour guides are descendents of the miners who lived and worked in the area. The tour guides tell stories that were shared by family members over the years.

The mine is the last remaining shaft mine that was typical of the era. It alone represents the nearly 500 mines that were active in 1900. The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is the only 1,000 foot vertical shaft gold mine tour in the United States.

You might want to take a jeep tour out of Colorado Springs and make a day of it. We think the Mollie Kathleen Mine is one of the Top Family Attractions in Colorado.  

For Information Contact:

The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine

Cripple Creek, Colorado

1-888-291-5689

www.goldminetours.com