In the late 19th century, on October 20, 1890, Robert Miller "Bob" Womack discovered a rich gold vein in the area, setting off a frantic gold rush.
Photo: Cripple Creek, Colorado late 1800s In the late 19th century, on October 20, 1890, Robert Miller "Bob" Womack discovered a rich gold vein in the area, setting off a frantic gold rush. Two savvy Denver realtors, Horace Bennett and Julius Myers, decided to chase their dreams of wealth by subdividing 80 acres of land for a new townsite. They aptly named this budding community Fremont, and it boasted 30 meticulously planned blocks, each brimming with 766 lots. The price? A mere $25 for a regular lot and $50 for a prized corner lot. In just a year, the value of these lots skyrocketed, fetching no less than $250 each. Not too long after that, investors from Colorado Springs embarked on a similar journey, plating 140 acres near Fremont and christening their town, Hayden Placer. But Bennett and Myers weren't done yet; they filed another plat close to the Broken Box Ranch and dubbed it Cripple Creek. In the blink of an eye, the combined population of these burgeoning towns ...