Summer 2021 Issue

Summer 2021
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
by Patrick Lawler
The Tabors gained a lot of wealth during
this period, and Horace ultimately secured
sole ownership of the ‘Matchless Mine’ for
$117,000 (about $30M in today’s dollars).
Page 25
By January 1883 the Matchless had
produced a whopping $484M in today’s
dollars. Life was good for Horace and
Augusta, until something got in the way.
It was about this time that Horace met
‘Baby Doe’ McCourt. Baby Doe was
previously married to a drinker/gambler who
couldn’t hold a job, and so she made her
way to Leadville with barely a penny in her
pocket. She found work with a friend in a
clothing shop and caught the eye of Horace
as she was young, beautiful, and “one of
the best dressed women in the West”.
Tabor Opera
Horace divorced Augusta with much public
drama, and Baby Doe began to live a
lavish lifestyle with Horace. They had two
children and took up residence in their
Denver mansion at 18th and Broadway.
The Tabor’s were living the high life with
real estate holdings around Colorado,
expensive clothing, and a taste for the finer
things. The Matchless Mine output began
to decline by the mid-1880s; however, and
the Tabor income was not keeping up with
their pricey lifestyle.
Baby Doe