Victor

History

Victor was founded in 1891, shortly after Winfield Scott Stratton discovered gold nearby. The town was named after the Victor Mine, which may have been named for an early settler, Victor Adams. In 1892, Harry, Frank and Warren Woods founded the Mt. Rosa Mining, Milling and Land Company.{{#tag:ref|Harry and Frank Woods arrived in the Victor area in 1892 with their father Warren Woods. Warren, born in Ohio in 1834, "was the president of most of the Woods' enterprises." Frank managed the Woods Investment Company operations. Harry was a newspaper man before moving to Colorado; he was born in Illinois in 1859. In addition to the Gold Coin Mine and the Victor Bank Block, the Woods also owned or invested in the Pikes Peak Power Company, Golden Crescent Water and Light Company and the First National Bank of Victor. The power company sold power to Pueblo, Cripple Creek and Victor. In 1927, their "empire ended". Mines in Victor and Cripple Creek provided 21 million ounces of gold. In 2010, the value of the gold would have been more than $10 billion. The mining district, which hit its peak in 1900, became the 2nd largest gold district in the country's history. In August 1899, the business district was destroyed in a five-hour fire. The town had about 18,000 residents at the time. As a result, many of the historic buildings date to 1899, including the St. Victor Roman Catholic church, the First Baptist Church of Victor, and the Victor Hotel. The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) began to organize workers in a fight for shorter work days and standard wages. The workforce became heavily unionized after the Western Federation of Miners conducted a significant strike in 1894. A subsequent strike in 1903 had such an impact that it came to be called the Colorado Labor Wars. At this…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau for 2010, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,399
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,306
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,279
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  1,067
• Steller's Jay

  Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  1,062
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  969
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  945
• Broad-tailed Hummingbird

  Selasphorus platycercus (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  786

Largest nearby schools

• Cripple Creek-Victor Junior-Senior High School
  High · CRIPPLE CREEK · 176 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Cresson Elementary School
  Elementary · CRIPPLE CREEK · 137 students · 12.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3 — 2025-10-17
  11 km NNE of Black Forest, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2021-06-26
  19 km WNW of Cañon City, Colorado
• M 3.6 — 2017-11-30
  4 km NNW of Coaldale, Colorado
• M 2.9 — 2016-08-24
  16 km ENE of Beulah Valley, Colorado
• M 2.6 — 2013-09-24
  6 km NNE of Cotopaxi, Colorado
• M 2.6 — 2008-10-26
  8 km NNE of Colorado City, Colorado