Editing Cripple Creek, Colorado

{{short description|City in Colorado, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|name                     = Cripple Creek, Colorado
|settlement_type          = [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city|Statutory City]]<ref name=COMun>{{cite web|url=https://dola.colorado.gov/lgis/municipalities.jsf|title=Active Colorado Municipalities|publisher=[[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]]|access-date=October 15, 2021}}</ref>
|motto                    = "Real Fun, Real Colorado."
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
|image_skyline            = Welcome to Cripple Creek Colorado.jpg
|image_caption            = Entering Cripple Creek.
|imagesize                = 
|image_map                = Teller County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Cripple Creek Highlighted 0818530.svg
|map_caption              = Location of the City of Cripple Creek in [[Teller County, Colorado]]
|pushpin_map              = USA
|pushpin_label            = Cripple Creek
|pushpin_label_position   = right
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location of the City of Cripple Creek in the United States
<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{flag|United States}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Colorado}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Colorado|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Teller County, Colorado|Teller County]]<ref name=COcounty>{{cite web |url=https://dola.colorado.gov/lgis/counties.jsf|title=Colorado Counties|publisher=[[Colorado|State of Colorado]], [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]], Division of Local Government|access-date=January 28, 2021}}</ref>
<!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city|Statutory City]]<ref name=COMun/>
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = 
|established_title        = <!-- Settled -->
|established_date         = 
|established_title2       = [[municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date2        = June 9, 1892<ref name=MuniIncCO>{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = December 1, 2004 | access-date = September 2, 2007}}</ref>
|established_title3       = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
|established_date3        = 
<!-- Area --------------------->
|unit_pref                = [[Imperial units|Imperial]]
|area_footnotes           = <ref name=2020_Census>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/about/rdo/summary-files.html|title=Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Department of Commerce]]|date=August 12, 2021|access-date=September 7, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 3.941
|area_land_km2            = 3.941
|area_water_km2           = 0.000
<!-- Population ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name=2020_Census/>
|population_total         = 1,155
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = auto
|population_metro     = 755,105 ([[List of metropolitan statistical areas|79th]])
|population_blank1_title = [[Front Range Urban Corridor|Front Range]]
|population_blank1    = 5,055,344
<!-- General information ----------------------->
|timezone1            = [[Mountain Time Zone|MST]]
|utc_offset1          = −07:00
|timezone1_DST        = [[Mountain Time Zone|MDT]]
|utc_offset1_DST      = −06:00
|coordinates          = {{coord|38|44|54|N|105|10|32|W|region:US-CO_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_footnotes  = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft         = 9456
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type     = [[ZIP Code]]<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web|url=http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |title=ZIP Code Lookup |format=[[JavaScript]]/[[HTML]] |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |access-date=March 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104123722/http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |archive-date=November 4, 2010  }}</ref>
|postal_code          = 80813
|area_code            = 719
|blank_name           = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
|blank_info           = 08-18530
|blank1_name          = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS feature ID]]
|blank1_info          = 204769<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|204769}}</ref>
|website              = {{URL|https://cityofcripplecreek.com/}}
|footnotes            = 
}}

'''Cripple Creek''' is a [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city|statutory city]] that is the [[county seat]] of [[Teller County, Colorado|Teller County]], [[Colorado]], United States.<ref name=COMun/> The city population was 1,155 at the [[2020 United States census]].<ref name=2020_Census/> Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} southwest of [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]] near the base of [[Pikes Peak]]. The [[Cripple Creek Historic District]], which received [[National Historic Landmark]] status in 1961, includes part or all of the city and the surrounding area. The city is now a part of the [[Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area]] and the [[Front Range Urban Corridor]].

==History==
[[File:Battle Mountain mines, Cripple Creek, Colorado, ca. 1898.jpg|thumb|left|Battle Mountain mines, Cripple Creek in 1898]]
[[File:Sunset from Cripple Creek, Colorado, 1899.jpg|thumb|left|Sunset in Cripple Creek in 1899 with Mt. Pisgah – the conical peak at left]]
[[File:PostcardCrippleCreekCOBennettAveLookingEastCirca1900to1920.jpg|thumb|left|Looking east on Bennett Avenue, early 20th century]]
For many years, Cripple Creek's high valley, at an elevation of {{convert|9494|ft}}, was considered no more important than a cattle pasture. Many prospectors avoided the area after the ''Mount Pisgah hoax'', a mini gold rush caused by [[Salting (confidence trick)|salting]] (adding gold to worthless rock).<ref>Dan Plazak ''A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top'' (2006) {{ISBN|978-0-87480-840-7}} (contains a chapter on the Mt. Pisgah hoax).</ref>

On October 20, 1890, Robert Miller "Bob" Womack discovered a rich [[ore]] and the last great Colorado [[gold rush]] began. By July 1891, a post office was established. By November, hundreds of prospectors were camping in the area. Rather than investing in mines, Denver realtors Horace Bennett and Julius Myers sought wealth by platting 80 acres of land for a townsite which they named Fremont. The town consisted of 30 platted blocks containing 766 lots. Each lot sold for $25 and $50 for corner lots. Within a year, the lots value increased and sold for at least $250 each. Months later, investors from Colorado Springs platted 140 acres near Fremont and called their town Hayden Placer. Bennett and Myers filed another plat near the Broken Box Ranch and named it Cripple Creek. The towns’ combined population totalled 600-800 people by the end of 1891. By 1892, the Cripple Creek Mining District name had caught on and in June 1892, the post office assigned the Cripple Creek name to Fremont, Hayden Placer, and Cripple Creek and all the settlements became known as one. From 1892, Bennett and Myers oversaw the Fremont Electric Light and Power Company. The district’s first telephone was established in 1893. Thousands of prospectors flocked to the district, and before long [[Winfield Scott Stratton]] located the famous [[Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill|Independence lode]], one of the largest gold strikes in history. In three years, the population increased from five hundred to ten thousand. The Palace Hotel and the Windsor Hotel were so full that chairs were rented out to be slept on for $1 a night. Although $500 million worth of gold ore was dug from Cripple Creek and more than 30 millionaires were produced since its mining heyday, Womack was not among them. Having sold his claim for $500 and a case of whiskey, he died penniless on August 10, 1909.<ref>[http://www.womacknet.com/features/bobwomack.html Robert "Bob" Womack of Colorado] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630070619/http://www.womacknet.com/features/bobwomack.html |date=June 30, 2009 }} by Joyce and Linda Womack. Retrieved March 11, 2010.</ref> By 1892, Cripple Creek was home to 5,000 people with another 5,000 in the nearby towns of Victor, Elton, Goldfield, Independence, Alton, and Strong. As people arrived, the marshal greeted them and confiscated their firearms, which were then sold in Denver to pay for the salary of the teachers of Cripple Creek.

{{see also|Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894}}

In 1896, Cripple Creek suffered two disastrous fires. The first occurred on April 25 with flames resulting from a dispute between a bartender, [[Otto Floto]], and his dancehall girlfriend, Jennie LaRue, on the second floor of the Central Dance Hall on Myers Avenue. Their struggle resulted in an oil lamp being thrown setting fire to the curtains. The fire incinerated most buildings on Myers Avenue before it was put out. Four days later, another fire destroyed much of the remaining half. A cook at the Portland Hotel spilled a kettle of grease on a hot stove, which caused fire to travel from Myers to Bennet Avenue and burned 1/3 of Cripple Creek. The town was rebuilt using brick and better construction methods in a period of a few months; most historic buildings today date back to 1896.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-cripplecreek2.html |title=Cripple Creek Colorado - Worlds Greatest Gold Camp - Page 2 |access-date=May 23, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523230228/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-cripplecreek2.html |archive-date=May 23, 2014  }}. Retrieved May 22, 2014.</ref>

By 1900, the Cripple Creek mining district was home to 500 mines. By 1910, it had produced 22.4 million ounces of gold. Between 1894 and 1902, around 50,000 people lived in the mining district with 35,000 in the town of Cripple Creek alone making it the fourth most populous town in Colorado at the time. The seven adjoining boom towns includes Victor, Gillette, Alban, Independence, Goldfield, Elton, and Cameron—all of which were connected by rail. During the boom, there were 150 saloons, 49 grocery stores, 25 restaurants, four department stores, 12 casinos, 34 churches, a business college, a county school district with 19 schools and 118 teachers educating almost 4,000 students, 90 doctors, 40 stockbrokers, 15 newspapers, 9 assay offices, 10 barber shops, 72 lawyers, 20 houses of ill-repute, over 300 prostitutes, 26 one room cribs, and several opium dens. Prostitution flourished until the 1920s and was taxed at a rate of $6 a month per prostitute and $16 a month per madame. Pearl De Vere, a famous madame who owned The Old Homestead, a high class brothel that serviced wealthy mine owners and entrepreneurs of the area, was known to have charged clients in the upwards of $250 a night. Over 8,000 miners worked in the district making $3 per day. Most miners and foremen supplemented their incomes by as much as 1/3 through [[High grading#Mining|high grading]]. It was estimated that an average of $1{{ndash}}2 million dollars per year were stolen from the early mines through high grading.

While $3 a day was typical for a miner, some miners had to work 8 hours a day while others had to work 9 or 10 hours. The average miners paid $1.75 per week for an unfurnished house or $2.50 per week to boarding houses that included a room, bath, and meals. During the 1890s, many of the miners in the Cripple Creek area joined a miners' union, the [[Western Federation of Miners]] (WFM). A [[Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894|significant strike took place in 1894]], marking one of the few times in history that a sitting governor called out the [[Colorado National Guard|national guard]] to protect miners from [[anti-union violence]] by forces under the control of the mine owners. By 1903, the allegiance of the state government had shifted, and Governor [[James Hamilton Peabody|James Peabody]] sent the [[Colorado National Guard]] into Cripple Creek with the goal of destroying union power in the gold camps.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/colorado-governor-sends-militia-to-cripple-creek| title = ''history.com''}}</ref> The WFM strike of 1903 and the governor's response precipitated the [[Colorado Labor Wars]], a struggle that took many lives.

The 1904 [[silent film]] short, ''[[Tracked by Bloodhounds; or, A Lynching at Cripple Creek]]'', directed by [[Harry Buckwalter]], was filmed in the area.<ref name="AFI">{{cite web |title=Tracked by Bloodhounds; or, A Lynching at Cripple Creek (1904) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/32983 |website=The American Film Institute |access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>

Through 2005, the Cripple Creek district produced about 23.5 million [[Troy weight|troy ounces]] (979 1/6 troy tons; 731 metric tons) of gold. The underground mines are mostly idle, except for a few small operations. There are significant underground deposits remaining which may become feasible to mine in the future. Large scale open pit mining and cyanide heap leach extraction of near-surface ore material, left behind by the old time miners as low grade, has taken place since 1994 east of Cripple Creek, near its sister city of Victor, Colorado. The district’s population began declining starting in 1905 as mines began closing. By 1920, only 40 mines were in business, and by 1945 the number dwindled to just 20 mines.

The current mining operation is conducted by [[Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine|Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company (CC&V)]], run currently by Newmont Mining. The mine operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Mine operations, maintenance, and processing departments work a rotating day/night schedule in 12-hour shifts.

With many empty storefronts and picturesque homes, Cripple Creek once drew interest as a ghost town. At one point, the population dropped to a few hundred, although Cripple Creek was never entirely deserted. In the 1970s and 1980s, travelers on photo safari might find themselves in a beautiful decaying historic town. A few restaurants and bars catered to tourists, who could pass weathered empty homes with lace curtains hanging in broken windows.

Colorado voters allowed Cripple Creek to establish legalized gambling in 1991. Cripple Creek is currently more of a gambling and tourist town than a ghost town. Casinos now occupy many historic buildings. Casino [[gambling]] has been successful in bringing revenue and vitality back into the area. It also provides funding for the ''State Historical Fund'', administered by the [[Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation]]. In 2012, Colorado casinos produced over $104 million in tax revenue for these programs.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010505225832/http://coloradohistory-oahp.org/programareas/shf/shfindex.htm State Historical Fund], [[Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation|Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation]], [[Colorado Historical Society]], USA.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americangaming.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/aga_sos2013_fnl.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 30, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019101552/http://www.americangaming.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/aga_sos2013_fnl.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2013  }}</ref>

==Geography==
The gold-bearing area of the Cripple Creek district was the core of an ancient [[volcano]] within the [[central Colorado volcanic field]], last active over 30 million years ago during the [[Oligocene]].<ref name=mcintosh2004 >{{cite journal
 |author1=William C. McIntosh |author2=Charles E. Chapin
 |year= 2004
 |title= Geochronology of the central Colorado volcanic field  
 |journal= New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, Bulletin
 |volume= 160
 |pages= 205–238
 |url= http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/monographs/bulletins/160/downloads/10mcntsh.pdf
 |access-date= March 21, 2016
 }}</ref> Free or [[native gold]] was found near the surface but at depth [[redox|unoxidized]] [[Gold chalcogenides|gold tellurides and sulfides]] were found.

At the [[2020 United States census]], the town had a total area of {{convert|3.941|km2|acre|order=flip}}, all of it land.<ref name=2020_Census/>

The community takes its name from nearby [[Cripple Creek (Colorado)|Cripple Creek]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|year=1954|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=22|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=16}}</ref>

===Climate===
{{Weather box
|location = Cripple Creek 3NNW, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals: 9235ft (2815m)
|single line = Yes
|collapsed = Yes
|Jan record high F = 55
|Feb record high F = 56
|Mar record high F = 66
|Apr record high F = 68
|May record high F = 78
|Jun record high F = 87
|Jul record high F = 86
|Aug record high F = 85
|Sep record high F = 83
|Oct record high F = 74
|Nov record high F = 63
|Dec record high F = 57
|year record high F = 

|Jan avg record high F = 49.4
|Feb avg record high F = 49.5
|Mar avg record high F = 58.7
|Apr avg record high F = 64.1
|May avg record high F = 71.5
|Jun avg record high F = 82.9
|Jul avg record high F = 83.7
|Aug avg record high F = 80.0
|Sep avg record high F = 77.2
|Oct avg record high F = 69.3
|Nov avg record high F = 58.7
|Dec avg record high F = 50.4
|year avg record high F = 82.9

|Jan high F = 34.3
|Feb high F = 36.1
|Mar high F = 43.2
|Apr high F = 48.9
|May high F = 59.3
|Jun high F = 71.2
|Jul high F = 75.7
|Aug high F = 72.3
|Sep high F = 66.8
|Oct high F = 54.9
|Nov high F = 42.5
|Dec high F = 34.3
|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 24.3
|Feb mean F = 25.3
|Mar mean F = 32.1
|Apr mean F = 37.4
|May mean F = 46.7
|Jun mean F = 57.8
|Jul mean F = 62.3
|Aug mean F = 59.7
|Sep mean F = 54.0
|Oct mean F = 42.7
|Nov mean F = 32.7
|Dec mean F = 24.4
|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 14.4
|Feb low F = 14.6
|Mar low F = 21.0
|Apr low F = 25.9
|May low F = 34.1
|Jun low F = 44.4
|Jul low F = 48.9
|Aug low F = 47.1
|Sep low F = 41.1
|Oct low F = 30.4
|Nov low F = 22.8
|Dec low F = 14.4
|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -3.0
|Feb avg record low F = -4.1
|Mar avg record low F = 3.0
|Apr avg record low F = 9.7
|May avg record low F = 18.9
|Jun avg record low F = 33.2
|Jul avg record low F = 42.8
|Aug avg record low F = 40.5
|Sep avg record low F = 28.8
|Oct avg record low F = 12.6
|Nov avg record low F = 5.3
|Dec avg record low F = -5.9
|year avg record low F = -10.3

|Jan record low F = −11
|Feb record low F = −22
|Mar record low F = −3
|Apr record low F = -3
|May record low F = 8
|Jun record low F = 26
|Jul record low F = 38
|Aug record low F = 37
|Sep record low F = 18
|Oct record low F = -7
|Nov record low F = -14
|Dec record low F = −16
|year record low F =  

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.51
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.55
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.31
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.67
|May precipitation inch = 1.81
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.77
|Jul precipitation inch = 3.20
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.43
|Sep precipitation inch = 1.71
|Oct precipitation inch = 0.89
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.57
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.56
|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 7.7
|Feb snow inch = 11.3
|Mar snow inch = 11.3
|Apr snow inch = 14.6
|May snow inch = 8.1
|Jun snow inch = 0.5
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.2
|Sep snow inch = 1.5
|Oct snow inch = 8.7
|Nov snow inch = 7.1
|Dec snow inch = 11.3
|year snow inch =

|source 1 = NOAA<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00051977&format=pdf
|title = Cripple Creek 3NNW, Colorado 1991-2020 Monthly Normals 
|access-date = December 9, 2023
}}
</ref>
|source 2 = XMACIS (2006-2020 snowfall, records & monthly max/mins)<ref name = XMACIS>
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS
|access-date = December 9, 2023
}}
</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1900= 10147
|1910= 6206
|1920= 2325
|1930= 1427
|1940= 2358
|1950= 853
|1960= 614
|1970= 425
|1980= 655
|1990= 584
|2000= 1115
|2010= 1189
|2020= 1155
|footnote=[[United States census|U.S. Decennial Census]]
}}

In the early years, miners arrived without their families to seek their fortunes. Once settled, their families joined them leading the district’s population to balloon. Over 1/3 of the district’s citizens were White and Catholic. Swedes were a large enough ethnic group to have established their own newspaper, ''Svenska Posten.'' Hundreds of French people lived in the district and owned many businesses. A small population of Chinese and African Americans secured employment in the laundry business and as porters in saloons. The Chinese were not allowed to work on mines and only a handful of African Americans were hired as miners. A good mix of Irish, French, German, African Americans and Chinese women worked as prostitutes who charged between 50 cents to $1.{{cn |date=August 2024}}

As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website  }}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,115 people, 494 households, and 282 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|988.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 737 housing units at an average density of {{convert|653.5|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 92.29% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.90% [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 2.15% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.81% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 1.43% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.42% from two or more races. 6.01% of the population were [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 494 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,261, and the median income for a family was $41,685. Males had a median income of $27,600 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,607. About 4.7% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
{{clear|left}}

==Arts and culture==
[[Image:Cripple Creek, Colorado, 1957, Kodachrome by Chalmers Butterfield.jpg|thumb|Cripple Creek, 1957]] [[Image:Downtown Cripple Creek.jpg|thumb|Downtown Cripple Creek in January 2009.]]
The [[Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad]], a [[narrow gauge]] train ride from Cripple Creek passes several small ghost towns, [[gold mining|goldmines]], and [[glory hole (mining)|glory hole]]s. The [[Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine]] provides tours into a real gold mine led by a real gold miner.<ref>Feitz, L., (1968), ''Cripple Creek Railroads: The Rail Systems of the Gold Camp'', Little London Press, Colorado Springs, {{ISBN|0-936564-15-6}}.</ref>

In 2006 Cripple Creek broke ground on the new Pikes Peak Heritage Center. Constructed at a cost over $2.5&nbsp;million, the building is over {{convert|11000|sqft|m2|-2}} of educational displays. State of the art electronics are used throughout the building and there is also a theatre showing historical films about the area. Newly named the Cripple Creek Heritage Center, admission is free.

Cripple Creek is also home to the Butte Opera House, a theatre first managed by the Mackin family (previous owners of the Imperial Hotel and producers of a long-running, much-loved melodrama theatre company). The Butte is currently the home of the Mountain Rep Theatre Company that produces plays, musicals, and classic melodramas year-round, including such shows as ''Forever Plaid, Hot Night in the Old Town, A Cripple Creek Christmas Carol'', ''The Rocky Horror Show,'' and ''The Christmas Donkey''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mountainrep.com|title=(Mountain Rep Theater)|website=www.mountainrep.com|language=en-US|access-date=April 11, 2018}}</ref>''.''

Cripple Creek features many events throughout the year like the Cripple Creek Ice Festival,<ref>The Cripple Creek Ice Festival returned in February 2023 after 2 years | Colorado Public Radio (cpr.org)</ref> Donkey Derby Days,<ref>Donkey Derby Days 2023 in Colorado - Dates (rove.me)</ref> the [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4]] Celebration, the annual Ice Castles<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://icecastles.com/cripple-creek-colorado/|title=Cripple Creek Ice Castles|website=icecastles.com/cripple-creek-colorado/|language=en-US|access-date=April 27, 2025}}</ref> and a Gold Camp Christmas.

==Education==
Cripple Creek is served by the [[Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1]]. The district has one elementary school and one junior/senior high school, including Cresson Elementary School and Cripple Creek-Victor Junior/Senior High School. Principal of the Jr/Sr High School is Daniel Cummings and Miriam Mondragon is the Superintendent of Schools.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.ccvschools.org/1QT6MM52.html| title= Cripple Creek-Victor School District| publisher= Cripple Creek-Victor School District| access-date= January 1, 2016| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160122003145/http://www.ccvschools.org/1QT6MM52.html| archive-date= January 22, 2016| df= mdy-all}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Colorado }}
*[[Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad]]
*[[Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine]], active gold mine between the two towns
*[[Gold Belt Tour National Scenic and Historic Byway]]
*[[Pearl de Vere]], known as the "soiled dove of Cripple Creek"

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|auto=yes}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Cripple Creek}}
*[https://cityofcripplecreek.com/ City of Cripple Creek website]
*[http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/CRIPPLE%20CREEK.pdf CDOT map of the City of Cripple Creek] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083426/http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Cripple%20Creek.pdf |date=March 4, 2016 }}
*[http://www.visitcripplecreek.com Travel website for Cripple Creek]

{{Teller County, Colorado}}
{{Colorado|show}}
{{Protected areas of Colorado}}
{{Colorado county seats}}

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[[Category:Cities in Teller County, Colorado]]
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[[Category:County seats in Colorado]]
[[Category:Colorado Mining Boom]]
[[Category:Gambling localities in Colorado]]
[[Category:History of the Rocky Mountains]]
[[Category:Pikes Peak]]
[[Category:1892 establishments in Colorado]]