Summer 2021 Issue

Summer 2021
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
by Patrick Lawler
This Day in History -August 08th, 1893
Page 24
On August 08th, 1893 President Grover
Cleveland sent a message to Congress
suggesting the immediate repeal of the
1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act. It’s a
topic that sounds incredibly boring, but
provides an interesting footnote to Colorado
history.
Whether you are a resident of the city or
hills, you’ve likely heard of the Tabor name.
Tabor Opera House (Leadville), Tabor
Grand Opera (Denver), Tabor Block, the
Matchless Mine, Lieutenant Governor, U.S.
Senator – the Tabor name is attached to a
number of Colorado cultural institutions,
businesses, and political seats, but the high
life quickly came tumbling down for these
folks in a wild way with the repeal of the
Sherman Silver Purchase Act.
Horace and Augusta Tabor moved to
Denver City in 1859 as store keepers to
capitalize on the Colorado Gold Rush.
Augusta Tabor
Between 1859 and 1878 the Tabor’s
bounced around mining towns in Park
County and Lake County, operating
general stores while Horace served
intermittently as postmaster and
prospector. Horace gradually built a
reputation as a successful businessman
and politician, serving as Mayor of
Leadville and then Lieutenant Governor of
Colorado when the “Colorado Silver Boom”
took off.
Horace Tabor