Horace Austin Tabor (1830–1899), often called “Haw” Tabor or the “Silver King,” was one of the most iconic figures of Colorado’s mining era. His dramatic rise from a modest prospector and merchant to one of the wealthiest men in the state—and his eventual fall—epitomizes the boom-and-bust nature of the American West. Tabor’s greatest success and lasting legacy are tied to Leadville, Colorado, where his investments sparked the Colorado Silver Boom.
Born on November 26, 1830, in Holland, Vermont, to a family of stonecutters, Tabor learned the trade as a young man. In 1855, he moved to Kansas, where he farmed and briefly served in the Topeka legislature. He married Augusta Pierce in 1857, and in 1859, drawn by the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush, the couple (with their young son Maxey) headed to Colorado Territory. They prospected and ran supply stores in various camps, including areas near present-day Idaho Springs, Buckskin Joe, and California Gulch (near Oro City). Augusta often managed boarding houses or shops while Horace mined or traded goods.
After years of modest success in gold placer mining, the Tabors settled in the high-altitude area around California Gulch by the mid-1870s. In 1877, Horace became postmaster, and the family moved into Leadville (then still developing from Oro City). Tabor helped incorporate the town, served as its first mayor in 1878, and helped tame its rough reputation by hiring lawman Mart Duggan to curb violence. He also ran a general store and continued grubstaking (providing supplies to prospectors in exchange for a share of any future profits).
Tabor’s fortune changed dramatically in 1878. Two prospectors, August Rische and George Hook (sometimes described as German immigrants), approached him for credit on supplies. Tabor agreed, grubstaking them for about $54–$60 in goods in exchange for a one-third interest in their claim on Fryer Hill. On May 3, 1878, they struck a massive silver vein in the Little Pittsburg Mine. This discovery ignited the Leadville silver boom, transforming the area into a major mining center and making Tabor enormously wealthy almost overnight. His share from the Little Pittsburg alone brought him millions (equivalent to tens of millions today), and he quickly sold interests for substantial sums.
Tabor reinvested aggressively, acquiring stakes in other rich mines like the Chrysotile and the famous Matchless Mine (which became symbolic of his empire). He expanded into mines across Colorado (including Aspen, Cripple Creek, and the San Juan Mountains) and beyond. By the early 1880s, his wealth peaked at around $9 million or more. He moved his family to Denver, built the opulent Tabor Grand Opera House (opened in 1881), invested in railroads, banks, and real estate, and entered politics as Colorado’s lieutenant governor (1879–1883) and briefly as a U.S. Senator in 1883.
In Leadville, Tabor’s influence was profound: his bonanza mines fueled explosive growth, turning a rough camp into a bustling city with newspapers, banks, an opera house (the Tabor Opera House, which he funded), and infrastructure. He is credited with helping name the town “Leadville” due to its lead-silver carbonates.
Tabor’s personal life added scandal to his legend. In the early 1880s, he began a relationship with Elizabeth McCourt (known as “Baby Doe”), a beautiful divorcée. He divorced Augusta in 1882 (amid controversy) and married Baby Doe in a lavish Washington, D.C., ceremony attended by President Chester A. Arthur. The affair and divorce became tabloid sensations.
The end came with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893, which crashed silver prices during the Panic of 1893. Tabor’s silver-based fortune evaporated. He lost most assets, including mines, and died in poverty on April 10, 1899, in Denver from appendicitis. On his deathbed, he reportedly urged Baby Doe to “hold on to the Matchless” mine, believing silver would rebound. Baby Doe lived reclusively at the Matchless until her death in 1935.
Horace Tabor’s story—rags to riches to rags—lives on through historic sites in Leadville (the Tabor Home, Tabor Opera House, and Matchless Mine), literature, and the opera The Ballad of Baby Doe. He remains a symbol of the wild optimism, risk, and volatility of Colorado’s silver mining frontier.
