American Eagles Tour

Tour Provides the Last Public Access to American Eagles Mine

The Southern Teller County Focus Group (STCFG) will be hosting its 11th annual historic mine tour Saturday, May 21. The tour will include a visit to the historic American Eagles Mine and is $10 per person with proceeds benefiting the non-profit STCFG. The 1890’s mine is the highest in the district.

Newmont Mining Company, owner of CC&V, closed the historic mine site due to safety issues of a public access road crossing an active mine road and the interaction of passenger vehicles and haul trucks.  With the closure, Newmont has approved one last tour of the site – this is the last opportunity for the public to visit the site.  Victor miner Gary Horton will present historical information and visitors will have time photographs and visiting the historic structures.

Winfield Scott Stratton, a carpenter who struck it rich at the Independence Mine above Victor in 1891, bought the American Eagles in 1895.
Stratton was known for his multi-million dollar Independence Mine and for a dream – that the rich gold ore body of the Cripple Creek/Victor District was shaped like a wine goblet. He believed that the surface ore deposits narrowed and focused deep underground into a main stem of the extinct volcano that created the Bowl of Gold. He used $6 million from his $11 million Independence Mine sale to purchase claims he thought might be needed for his big dream, but he died before he had a chance to find the Bowl of Gold.

The American Eagles Group consisted of three shafts and reached its maximum depth in 1902, and at the time it was the deepest shaft at 1,540 feet deep and was also the highest mine in the district at 10,570 feet above sea level.

Little is known about the actual production since Stratton’s mines were all privately held, and following his death in 1902 they were held by the Stratton Estate.

Mining continued off and on and the Eagles was reopened in 1924 by the Stratton Leasing Company. In 1936 a rich vein of ore was found between the 19th and 21st levels. The American Eagles was worked until 1940 when it was shut down for good.

In 1995 the mine site was developed into an overlook, providing one of the most impressive views of the Cripple Creek/Victor Mining District, back dropped by the Continental Divide. The overlook includes structures that once served as the Shifter’s Office, Superintendent’s House, Blacksmith Shop, the original Headframe and Hoist for the mine.

The mining company has been working to help offset the loss of the overlook and the historic mine. CC&V is moving forward on the planning, investment and construction of a new overlook.

For the tour, meet at the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum at 3rd and Victor Avenue in Victor no later than 12:30 on May 21. All participants will be required to sign waivers; hard hats and safety glasses will be provided. Transportation to the site will be by vans with a very limited number of vehicles carpooling. This tour is very popular and advance, pre-paid reservations are recommended online at VictorColorado.com. Online reservations are by credit card; cash only payments will be accepted at the museum the day of the event. Be sure to bring warm clothing and be prepared for walking on rocky ground. The site is above 10,000 feet in elevation so be sure to consider the effects of elevation and colder temperatures when planning your visit.

The cost is $10 per person, which benefits the historic preservation and community development projects of the STCFG. The organization works to preserve historic structures, develops, promotes, and maintains the Trails of Gold, and hosts other annual events such as the Victor Gem & Mineral Show, Haunted Millsite, and Gold Camp Christmas Headframe Lighting.

The morning of May 21 at 10 a.m. the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum will host a walking tour of the graves of Pioneering Women of the Sunnyside Cemetery. See VictorColorado.com for information and reservations for that tour.

For more information on the STCFG or this event, visit VictorColorado.com, email stcfg@victorcolorado.com, or call 719-689-2675.