Mary Catherine (Mollie) Gortner (1851 – 1917)

Prospector

2024 Inductee from Mining’s Past

Mary Cathleen Gortner was the first woman to stake a gold claim in her own name in 1891 in the Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado. This was clearly a bold move and out of step with the times as it was very uncommon to have a woman claim something of such value.

In the spring of 1891, Gortner’s son Perry left their home in Colorado Springs as a surveyor to map mining claims in Cripple Creek. All he talked about was the gold there. Wanting to see for herself what the fuss was all about, Gortner loaded the family wagon with supplies and joined other wagons headed to Cripple Creek. She set up housekeeping in the log and canvas tent Perry had recently completed. You had to be tough and courageous to be a woman in a mining town.

In September of 1891, Perry, while surveying upper Poverty Gulch, saw a huge herd of elk. Later he told his mother about the herd so she headed out to see for herself. As she made her way up Poverty Gulch, three hundred yards past Cripple Creek's first gold strike, Bob Womack's Gold King Mine, she decided to rest. Gortner never made it up high enough to see the elk. When looking downward, she noticed an interesting rock formation winking at her - pure gold laced in quartz. With her heart racing, Gortner hid the gold samples amongst her clothing. She had to be calm, as there were a number of prospectors in the area. Earlier that day Mollie had visited with Bob Womack who had overlooked her find for more than a dozen years prospecting an area he had nicknamed Poverty Gulch.

Although Gortner staked the claim and owned the mine, it was her son Perry who kept an office out at the Mollie Kathleen Mine. As soon as she set foot on the mine site, the miners would scramble up out of the tunnels. It turns out they were superstitious and refused to be caught in a one-thousand foot vertical shaft with a woman on the grounds.

The National Geological Survey visited her mine while in production and its authors entered their report of the mine being "Discovered by Mr. M.C. Gortner".  Mr. Gortner's name was Henry - - - Mollie's name was Mary Catherine Gortner.

She died in 1917. Henry would later die of a broken heart one short year later. Perry Gortner was left 1/3 interest in his mother's gold discovery and was the managing operator of the Mollie Kathleen until 1949. Mining continued until 1961. Rather than closing down the mine completely, a decision was made to continue mine tours which are still being offered to this day. 

Print Version     Previous    Archive     Next