Independence and Influence Continued from: Part 1: “A Test of Faith” As dawn broke on July 4, 1891, Winfield Scott Stratton stood upon his two claims near Victor, Colorado: the Washington and the Independence, named to commemorate the date on which they were claimed. Leslie Popejoy, who had grubstaked Stratton the $275 it cost for the claims, had taken off for Denver after Stratton bought out his share. How did
A Test of Faith Winfield Scott Stratton, perhaps the least known but single largest contributor to Colorado Springs, was an enigma. Known as much for his benevolence as for his eccentricities, Stratton was Colorado Springs’ first and biggest nineteenth-century multi-millionaire. Born in Jeffersonville, Illinois in 1848, he was one of eight children, six of whom were girls. Most of his siblings died in infancy, so by the time he was
