At the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colorado’s gold-rush history has a woman’s name. The mine became known to generations of travelers for a vertical descent of 1,000 feet, approximately 305 metres, into former workings. Today that journey belongs to its past visitor experience. Checked on 29 October 2026, the operator’s official website states that the mine is closed for the foreseeable future, with no reopening date announced.
The name recalls Mary Catherine “Mollie” Gortner, who staked a claim in her own name in 1891. The Mining and Minerals Education Foundation identifies her as the first woman to do so in the Cripple Creek mining district. That local distinction deserves its proper scale: it should not be inflated into a claim that no woman anywhere had previously owned or registered a gold mine.