Evalyn Walsh McLean
1 book in the catalogue, published 1999.
Evalyn Walsh McLean was a Washington socialite and mining heiress, best known as an owner of the Hope Diamond. Western Reflections Publishing lists her memoir Father Struck it Rich, the story of her father's Colorado gold strike.
About Evalyn Walsh McLean
Wikipedia says Evalyn Walsh was born on August 1, 1886, in Leadville, Colorado, and died of pneumonia on April 26, 1947, in Washington, D.C. Her father, Thomas Walsh, was an Irish immigrant miner and prospector. In 1896 he returned home and announced that he had struck it rich, and the Camp Bird Mine near Ouray became his fortune.
Her husband, Edward Beale McLean, was heir to the Washington Post publishing fortune. Wikipedia says he bought the 45-carat Hope Diamond from Pierre Cartier on January 28, 1911, for 180,000 dollars. She wrote her memoir with Boyden Sparkes, and it first appeared in 1936.
What the books share
Father Struck it Rich ties the San Juan mining boom to Washington society. Our description of the book begins with Thomas Walsh's secret assays of Camp Bird ore near Ouray, and the author's name is bound up with the Hope Diamond. It is a daughter's account of a father's strike, told by a woman whose later life was far from the mountain claim.
The subjects this author is catalogued under. Open Library record.
Next steps for readers of this author
Starting with the memoir
She wrote Father Struck it Rich with Boyden Sparkes. If you know her mostly as a socialite, read the memoir's library page first and see how her own account treats her father.
Visiting where it began
A trip to Ouray lets you see the mountains her father worked. Start at the county museum, then use the forest page to choose a road, and check conditions before driving.
Digging into Washington history
Her later life belongs to the capital. Look for a Washington archive or library for newspapers of her era, and treat Colorado sources as the background for the early chapters of the story.
Go deeper
McLean's fortune began in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, where her father worked the Camp Bird Mine. These sources describe the Ouray area behind the Washington society story.
Ouray County Museum
Housed in a former miners' hospital, the museum shows thousands of artifacts about the county's mining, ranching and railroads, according to the historical society's website.
County background
The Colorado Encyclopedia entry for Ouray County gives the county's geography and history, a short route into the place where the family's wealth began.
Forest around Ouray
San Juan National Forest manages about 1.8 million acres of southwestern Colorado; its site lists roads and trails for people who want to see the mountains themselves.
Good to know
How many books by Evalyn Walsh McLean does Western Reflections list?
Who was her father?
Did she write it alone?
Writers like this one are how the list was built
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