Hardrock Man - Whispers from the Cripple Creek District Underground
Raised in the historic Cripple Creek-Victor Gold Mining District of Colorado, author Sylece Andromeda spent her childhood fascinated by old timer tales that brought to life the glory days of “The World’s Greatest Gold Camp.” As the years went by, and those olden-day miners saw their generation passing on, they asked Andromeda to record what she could of a history that was fast disappearing. After countless interviews with this special group of men and gathering oral histories done when the author was barely in kindergarten, this captivating work, Hardrock Man: Whispers from the Cripple Creek District Underground, fully delivers the character, flavor, and essence of those hardrock miners who thrived on and survived the dangerous work of digging for gold . . . underground.
- Published
- 2012
- ISBN
- 9781937851040
- Pages
- 304
- Category
- History
- Place
- Cripple Creek
- Publisher
- Western Reflections Publishing Company
- Listed at
- $23.95
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
Hardrock Man is a history of underground gold mining in the Cripple Creek and Victor district of Colorado, told through the voices of the men who worked it. Sylece Andromeda was raised in the district, which was known as The World's Greatest Gold Camp.
As a child she was fascinated by the tales of old timers. As those miners saw their generation passing, they asked her to record what she could of a history that was fast disappearing. The description says she did countless interviews and gathered oral histories done when she was barely in kindergarten.
The description says the book delivers the character, flavor and essence of hardrock miners who survived the dangerous work of digging for gold underground. The catalogue lists the subjects as gold miners, interviews, mining camps, biography and history. Open Library gives 2012 as the date.
Who it is for
This book is for readers of Colorado mining history who want the miners' own side of it. Cripple Creek and Victor visitors, descendants of miners and local historians are the natural audience. Its interviews and oral histories make it a book about people rather than a technical manual on mining.
About the author
Sylece Andromeda grew up in the Cripple Creek and Victor district, and her account of herself in the book's description is the main thing we know about her. We found no outside biography we could read. Her author page lists this book.
Ways to use this book
Spending a day in the district
Plan to see both towns. Start at the museum in Cripple Creek, then drive to Victor, and check each site for season and hours before you leave since both vary.
A family with miners in its past
If a grandparent or great grandparent worked underground in the district, ask the museum and the Victor heritage pages what records they hold, and bring names and years to narrow the search.
Go deeper
Hardrock Man is about the underground miners of the Cripple Creek and Victor district. These museums and town pages cover the same ground and are useful before or after a drive up Pikes Peak's western side.
Cripple Creek District Museum
Its site says the museum has mining memorabilia, mineral displays, old cabins and Victorian apartments, and it lists admission and seasonal hours.
City of Cripple Creek: history
The town's history page calls Cripple Creek the site of Colorado's last and greatest mining boom and lays out a timeline from the 1870s survey onward.
Victor, Colorado
The town site for Victor lists a history page, the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum, cemetery tours and mine tours.
Good to know
What is Hardrock Man based on?
Is it fiction?
Which district does it cover?
Which edition is listed here?
Have a book of your own?
This is the kind of book the house publishes: regional history, biography, memoir and the stories that belong to a place. Send us yours and a person will read it.
