It is only a short drive from Climax to Leadville. The Mining History Association visited Leadville in 1991 and 2007. No doubt, more MHAers stopped in Leadville on the way to other annual conferences held in Colorado.  The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum is one of the rather recent additions to the city.  The historic Matchless Mine of Horace and Baby Doe Tabor is preserved by the museum and open to visitors during the summer months.

The gold prospectors hit pay dirt in California Gulch on the south side of the future Leadville in 1859. As the gold placers played out in the 1870s, Silver was the next big thing. Silver mining brought fame and fortune to many until the last major mine, the Black Cloud, closed in 1999.

The main street of Leadville, Harrison Street, evolves but has a timeless feel about it, especially for those who have visited over the last 70+ years. On this trip it was obvious that many of the quaint Victorian houses on the side streets have been purchased and fixed up perhaps as mountain retreats for skiers.

As tempting as it was to again follow the popular tourist track,

“The Route of the Silver Kings,” the objective was to visit

Leadville’s Evergreen Cemetery and the new Memorial to the

 Irish Miners who died in poverty far from the Emerald Isle.

The memorial, dedicated in 2023, sits at the rear of the cemetery close to the area reserved for burials of the poor.  Informative panels line the spiral path to the central sculpture.

It is a quiet, peaceful, and sacred space.  The only sound is the wind whispering through the trees.

The bronze miner with an Irish harp and miner’s pick kneels in front of a large block of Climax molybdenum ore. The sculpture was designed by Irish artist Terry Brennan.

Interpretive signs tell the Leadville Irish story.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

The forested area adjacent to the memorial bears the impressions of hundreds of unmarked paupers’ graves.