Looking Back – Delaware Hotel: Leadville’s Victorian crown jewel

 

Historic hotel celebrating 125 years through September

In the very year Colorado became a state, 1876, a new rush to the Rocky Mountains was on. Silver! The entire area swarmed almost overnight with miners in a frenzy to strike it rich. Before the year was out, $100,000 worth of silver came out of the first developed mine in California Gulch, and a new town was incorporated closer to the major mining claims. They called it Leadville.

Since 1859, Colorado’s first gold rush, a tried and true ‘59er, Horace A.W. Tabor, had been prospecting for gold riches up and down the northern Colorado Rocky Mountains. Now, after 16 years of prospecting and living on a dream, Tabor found his spirits lifting with this new discovery. He immediately moved his wife Augusta and infant son to Leadville. There, he set up a new store for Augusta to run, and became postmaster, which allowed time for backslapping with businessmen, and a new venture – politics. Tabor became the first mayor of Leadville on Jan. 26, 1878.

Instead of prospecting for himself, Tabor occasionally “grubstaked” miners. The arrangement being that Tabor would agree to supply the miner with the equipment and needed supplies, in return for one-third of any silver discovery. In May 1878, two miners looking for a grubstake, walked into Tabor’s store and he obliged. For nearly 30 days, August Rische and George Hook dug in the hills above Leadville when they struck a massive lode of silver. They immediately filed the claim, with Tabor’s name included and called it the “The Little Pittsburg.”

In April 1878, Tabor received one third of the richest silver strike to date in the state. The riches poured from the mine and soon Tabor bought out Rische and Hook for a song. With overnight riches, Tabor couldn’t spend money fast enough.  He bought up mining stakes all over the gulch, and all turned profits, making Tabor the richest man in Colorado. Miners and investors came to Leadville and soon, more and more mines became incredible successes, including Tabor’s legendary Matchless Mine. By the 1880s, Leadville literally was shining in silver.

Among those who arrived in Leadville to make their fortune were the Callaway brothers. Successful Denver merchants, John, George and William, all agreed Leadville was the place to be. The three brothers established a mercantile business on Harrison Avenue. In 1884, the Callaway brothers bought the corner lot of 7th Street and Harrison Avenue, the intention being to build Leadville’s finest hotel. They christened it the Delaware Hotel in honor of their home state.

The preeminent architect of Leadville, George E. King, was hired in late 1885 to design the Delaware Hotel. King had designed and built most of Leadville’s finest buildings, including the 1880 Leadville Court House, the post office building, both the Central High School and the 9th Street School, as well as the 1885 Tabor Grand Hotel at 700 Harrison Ave. King built his (and Leadville’s) Victorian crown jewel, the Delaware, directly across the street, at 701 Harrison Ave.

Completed in October 1886, at a cost of $80,000, the three-story hotel was elegance personified. The angled corner recessed entrance lent to the ornate French style which King favored throughout his career. The central tower extends the three stories with fanciful segmented-arched windows. The cornice is crowned by the mansard roof, sectioned with sheet metal and ornamental ironwork topping the engraved nameplate. The red brick building in the Queen-Anne style contained offices and businesses on the ground floor, on both the Harrison and 7th Street sides. The top two stories contained 50 guest rooms graced by the beautiful 6-foot windows. Inside, steam heat kept the guests warm, while gaslights brightened every room. Each room had all the amenities of the day, and a few even had water closets. In general, six bathrooms, three on each floor, were available for the guests. The Delaware opened in October 1886 to rave reviews.

The Herald Democrat reported on April 19, 1897, “A noticeable improvement has taken place in the character of Leadville in the past year. During the year just ended the Delaware block has been added to the business portion of community, and it is by all odds the finest block in the city.”

The Victorian charm of Leadville’s mining days is evident in every room of the Delaware Hotel. From the elegant lobby to the Callaway Restaurant, and from the stairway to the guest rooms above, staying at the Delaware is like going back in time. One of the more popular events is the Murder Mystery. The tour guide relates the story of a horrific murder, with a twist, that occurred at the hotel in 1889.

John and Mary Coffey and their two young children, moved to Leadville from Idaho just a year earlier. John Coffey soon gained a reputation for his drunken brawls about town and the couple was often seen quarreling in public. Coffey had his wife arrested for adultery, but later dropped the charge. Then, Mrs. Coffey had her husband arrested for assault. Police officer John Morgan served the warrant on Coffey, who responded by shooting the officer twice. Coffey was immediately arrested, and Mrs. Coffey took a room with her children at the Delaware Hotel. On Nov. 4, 1889, Mary Coffey entered her room at the hotel to find her estranged husband waiting with the same loaded gun he had used on the police officer. With words to the effect he had been waiting to do this, he shot his wife in the back – twice. The Leadville Police managed to grab Coffey before he got out of the hotel. Paralyzed with two bullets in her spine, Mary Coffey died three days later. Her spirit roams the hotel to this day, although guests and staff report she is only seen from the waist up.

Another often told story is that of the legendary Baby Doe Tabor, a  somewhat tragic figure. Living alone and in seclusion at the famed Matchless Mine above Leadville, Baby Doe would occasionally walk to town with her feet wrapped in gunnysacks for warmth. She would often visit the hotel, and seat herself at the desk in Mr. Callaway’s office where she would write her letters.

The legendary stories and history of the famed Leadville hotel are being celebrated during the 125th anniversary of the Delaware Hotel through September. Victorian elegance is experienced with the afternoon teas, storytelling, tours and entertainment.

A special Molly Brown weekend, beginning Sept. 2, features the history and stories of this famed Colorado legend’s life in Leadville, topped with an appearance of her descendent, Maggie Brown.

For more information, contact the Delaware Hotel at 719-486-1418 or visit www.delawarehotel.com.

The hotel history is an excerpt of Linda Wommack’s new book, Colorado’s Historic Landmark Hotels.