Winfield Scott Stratton (July 22, 1848 – September 14, 1902) was an American prospector, capitalist, and philanthropist. He discovered the Independence Lode near Victor, Colorado on July 4, 1891, and became the Cripple Creek Mining District's first millionaire in 1894. He provided to build buildings, improve the street car system, build the first professional ball park, and provided funds to people in need.
Early life
On July 22, 1848, Stratton was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Stratton's parents were Mary and Myron Stratton. Stratton is a descendant from the Windsor, Connecticut line of the Stratton family. Stratton's mother had twelve children; of four boys, he is said to be the only one who lived beyond childhood.
Education
Stratton learned carpentry in his father's shipyards. After he moved to Colorado, he studied geology at Colorado College and studied metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines in 1874.
In 1874, he began prospecting for gold and silver in the summers.
Stratton also had an interest in the Portland mine. Stratton invested in real estate in Denver, Colorado. He is said to have written a check for $5,000 to "Crazy Bob" Womack, the prospector who first discovered gold at Cripple, but was down on his luck. He gave $20,000 to Horace A. W. Tabor when Tabor was broke. He had a housekeeper for many years named Eliza, with whom he could be brusque. She was called the "suffering but faithful housekeeper Eliza" in the Gold Rushes and Mining Camps of the Early American West book.
Stratton was fond of a quote by William Henry Channing, 19th-century religious thinker and part of the Transcendental movement:
When he died, most of his estate went towards the creation and maintenance of the Myron Stratton Home. He did, though leave $50,000 each to his son, Harry Stratton of Toulon, Illinois and other relatives.