The upper view shows one of the two main blocks that was destroyed
by fire in 1890. The Clifton Hotel was the large white building in
the center of the upper view. The white building at the right was a
saloon—note bartenders with white aprons and man holding a beer keg.
In the original picture, the stage road to Tin Cup Pass can just be
discerned, wending its way up through the timber at far left.
[Illustration: D.K.P., 1960]
During its heyday St. Elmo was a little hub, having in addition to its
railroad, toll roads west to Tin Cup, north to Aspen and south to
Maysville. Accordingly it was a favorite spot with the miners for
Saturday night celebrations. But when trips through the tunnel stopped
in 1910, and trains up Chalk Creek were halted in 1926, St. Elmo was
doomed. Finally there were only two residents of St. Elmo, Annabelle
Stark and her brother, Tony, who were to be the subject of many
articles. Until their deaths, each one’s mounting eccentricities made
them legendary, and St. Elmo unique....
Winfield started in 1880 and had a post office, one store, two hotels,
two saloons and enough cabins to make a population of around thirty. By
1883 it had a number of mines operating which were shipping their silver
and copper ore to Leadville for smelting. One of these mines was the
Augusta, owned by Jacob Sands (the lover of Baby Doe who brought the
beautiful Colorado divorcee to Leadville). Jake was a friend of Horace
Tabor’s and eventually lost his sweetheart to the Silver King (as Tabor
was called). But what made Jake name his mine after Tabor’s first wife?
Probably Tabor gave him some money for development since the claim was
located on May 10, 1880, several weeks before Tabor and Baby Doe met.
The mine is a long crosscut tunnel in Hummel Basin about two miles
northwest of Winfield. The Augusta made money for a while but produced
no fortune.
Still, the strange puzzle of the mine’s name and hidden history does
give Winfield a unique quality.
[Illustration: D.K.P., 1960]