Bachelor, Colorado
While Creede, Colorado, had the reputation as a wide-open mining town in the early 1890s ("there is no night in Creede"), Creede's miners went two miles up the hill to nearby Bachelor to drink, gamble and enjoy the ladies of the night. Riches made at nearby silver mines during the day were lost in a night at one of bachelor's numerous saloons, gambling halls, and brothels. Among its 1,500 residents, nearly 200 prostitutes plies their trade nightly. "Poker Alice" Tubbs, the notorious female gambler who dealt faro and played poker, said that Bachelor "ran ceaselessly at a most turbulent pitch." Ed O'Kelley, a Bachelor founder and its town marshal, murdered Bob Ford, the "dirty little coward" who had assassinated Jesse James just ten years earlier. World heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey, lived in Bachelor as a child and probably began to learn his pugilistic skills here. Murders, violence, accidents and destructive fires were commonplace. One man killed his mining partner because he was getting too friendly with his daughters; another killed a man following a dispute over a "turkey shoot." Amid this turmoil, town residents also found time to go to the Bachelor Opera House, attend church, enjoy July 4th celebrations, or simply enjoy a walk in the spectacular scenery. Young children explored the hills and local mines in search of adventure, and found it. Read this exciting story of a ghost town whose candle burned brightly for a short period of twenty years only to return to its natural state as a high mountain meadow.
- Published
- 2017
- Category
- History
- Place
- Creede
- Listed at
- $20.45
Publication details from Open Library. The price shown is the last one on record and is historic, not a current offer.
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About this book
Bachelor, Colorado is a history of a short-lived mining town two miles up the hill from Creede. While Creede had the reputation of a wide-open town in the early 1890s, the description says its miners went up to Bachelor to drink, gamble and enjoy the ladies of the night. The town had 1,500 residents, among them nearly 200 prostitutes.
The book names some of the people who passed through: the gambler "Poker Alice" Tubbs, who said Bachelor "ran ceaselessly at a most turbulent pitch," and Ed O'Kelley, a Bachelor founder and town marshal, who killed Bob Ford, the man who had shot Jesse James ten years earlier. Jack Dempsey lived in Bachelor as a child. The description also mentions murders, accidents and fires, an opera house, churches and July 4th celebrations.
It follows the town's rise and fall over twenty years, until the site returned to a high mountain meadow. Our catalogue dates this edition to 2017 and lists it under History.
Who it is for
This is nonfiction for readers of Colorado mining-camp history, especially anyone who knows Creede and wants the story of the camp above it. The description centers on the saloons, gambling halls, brothels and violence of the early 1890s, along with the churches, celebrations and children's explorations of everyday life. Our record carries no table of contents, so we list themes only. Charles A. Harbert's page lists his other book with us.
Ways to use this book
Driving up from Creede
Pick up the Bachelor Loop map at the visitor center and drive it with the book on the seat beside you. The tour stops at the cemetery, so end there. Check road conditions first, since the page says the east route is meant for four wheel drive vehicles.
Chasing one name from the book
If a saloon keeper, marshal or gambler in the description catches your interest, write to the Creede Historical Society with the name and the years. Ask what its research library keeps and whether it answers questions by mail or only in person.
Go deeper
Bachelor sat on the slope above Creede, so most of what you can still see or read about it lives in Mineral County. These three resources cover the camp's landscape, its local archive and the wider story of the silver rush.
Bachelor Loop Historic Tour
A 17 mile self guided drive through the mining district above Creede, with numbered interpretive stops. According to the page, the tour passes 1890s mine sites and abandoned ghost towns and ends at the Creede Cemetery and Bob Ford's grave site.
Creede and Mineral County tourism site → (opens in a new tab)
Creede Historical Society Museum and Research Library
The society says it preserves the history of Creede and Mineral County, with its museum inside the old Denver and Rio Grande depot. A good place to ask about local records before you plan a research visit.
Creede, Colorado Encyclopedia
A reference article on the 1889 silver strike and the seven camps along Willow Creek, Bachelor among them. It also names gamblers and gunmen who passed through, which helps when you want a dated outline beside a local history.
Good to know
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