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The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine began in 1891 when Perry Gortner, Mollie's son,
arrived in the area employed as a surveyor to map mining claims.
Mollie,
excited with curiosity of new found gold, decided to visit the new gold fields.
One day, Perry told his mother that he’d seen a huge herd of elk. Mollie,
having never seen elk, headed up the gulch. Along the way, she noticed an
interesting rock formation. Breaking into the rocks, she found the out cropping
was wire gold in quartz. Mollie quickly returned to camp with ore samples.
Perry, after viewing Mollie’s ore specimens, grabbed his pack mule and staked
Mollie’s Claim. Mollie took the survey description to the Claims Office but was
bluntly told "You are a women, you can not file the claim." Mollie grabbed the
file papers and signed them. By her boastful act, Mollie Kathleen became the
first woman in the Gold Camp to strike a gold claim in her own name. The Mollie
Kathleen Mine is open for tours. Visit
www.goldminetours.com
for more information. |
