The Dexter Cabin
Healy House
Tabor Opera House
Matchless Mine
Leadville didn’t just rise and fall with the discovery and bust of silver. It helped launch one of America’s great dynasties—the Guggenheims. It was from the mines of the Leadville area that Meyer Guggenheim’s smelter operation thrived, contributing to the expansion of the family’s wealth.
The riches of Leadville also brought about one story after another of upper-class vanity. Throughout the town, visitors can experience the eclectic characters of old Leadville in the historic landscape that still gives this mountain town a distinctive character.
The Dexter Cabin
The Dexter Cabin may seem modest from the outside, but its interior reveals the surprisingly lavish world of James V. Dexter, a successful banker, mining investor and entrepreneur who lived in Denver. In order to visit the mining operations he invested in, Dexter owned various cabins around the state. He was a consummate entertainer, inviting his wealthy colleagues and friends to this particular cabin for poker games where the minimum buy-in was $1,000. The structure was built in 1879, but was moved to its present location in the 1950s. You can take a quick tour of the three-room house and see the collection of art that Dexter possessed.
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Healy House
Leadville’s historic richness continues at the Healy House, a marvelous Greek Revival clapboard house that was originally built for August R. Meyer and his bride. While Meyer only lived in Leadville for three years—where he ran a successful smelting operation—his impact was long-lasting and can be seen today in the town's wide streets, which he helped lay out when serving as a town planner. Eventually, Dan Healy became the owner, and the home became a boarding house for 21 people—many were female teachers taking advantage of the comfortable room-and-board arrangements, including Healy's cousin. A tour through the museum passes not only artifacts pertinent to the house, but also items significant to Leadville’s culture and town history.
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Tabor Opera House
One of the central figures in Leadville’s boom—and subsequent—bust was Horace Tabor, whose Matchless Mine at one time produced $2,000 worth of silver ore a day. Tabor was one of the state’s first multimillionaires, and his taste for opulence is best reflected in the Tabor Opera House—an endeavor of his to bring high culture to the rough-and-tumble mountain town. The magnificent opera house is open in the summer, when you can take a formal tour up the grand staircase, onto the stage and even into the dressing rooms. Occasionally, the Tabor Opera House hosts a show.
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Matchless Mine
Tabor’s second marriage—to Elizabeth “Baby Doe” McCourt—gained him a national reputation for a flamboyant lifestyle. Their relationship was the stuff of tabloids, capturing the attention of newspaper readers nationwide. When Tabor passed away, he supposedly whispered to Baby Doe “hang on to the Matchless” —one of his mines on the outskirts of town. Baby Doe did just that, going so far as to live in a cabin by the mine, where she died as a recluse. Today, her cabin and the “hoist house”—where miners would hoist minerals from the depths of the mineshaft—are open for tours.
Did You Know?
The Healy House offers a special children’s tour that is catered to wide-eyed little ones curious about life in a silver boomtown.
In mid-August each year, Leadville plays host to a grueling 100-mile marathon into the mountains, where runners endure steep inclines and altitudes that at times exceed 12,000 feet.
Leadville’s next-door neighbors have a unique claim to fame: Mount Elbert and Mount Massive are the tallest and second tallest peaks in Colorado, respectively.
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Good to Know Before You Go:
Since Leadville is at such a high altitude, be sure to follow the guidelines for high-altitude acclimation: drink a lot of water and take it slow.
Dexter Cabin and Healy House
Open in summer, 10 am–4:30 pm
Adults: $5
Seniors (65+): $4.50
Children (6–16): $3.50
Children (under 6): Free
Colorado Historical Society members: Free
www.coloradohistory.org/hist_sites/healyhouse/H_house.htm or call (719) 486-0487
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Tabor Opera House
Open for tours only in summer
Monday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm
For show times, visit
www.taboroperahouse.net or call (719) 486-8409
Matchless Mine
1.5 miles east on Seventh Street or call (719) 486-1229
Open for tours only from June to Labor Day
ADA Accessibility:
The Dexter Cabin and the Healy House are not ADA accessible. Call ahead to discuss making special arrangements.
24 miles south of I-70 at Copper Mountain on Highway 91
www.leadvilleusa.com, (800) 933-3901 or (719) 486-3900
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This project is partially funded by a State Historical Fund grant award from the Colorado Historical Society.
Colorado's Historic Sites
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