In July, when we were first awarded the Myron Stratton Renovation our Project Manager, Cody Nemmer, took the time to write up this article about the history of the building we were about to be working in for our team. He wrote about why it is a privilege to be the contractor on this project and his “why” in pursuing this job. We’re so fortunate to have been a part of something so important to Colorado Springs and to have team members like Cody that take the time to educate us and pursue things they believe in!
From Cody:
Here are some details I put together from several sources to provide context for who Winfield Stratton was (who built Myron Stratton). And just so everyone knows – Myron Stratton is his father’s name.
Winfield Stratton was born in Indiana. His father was a carpenter/ship builder along the Ohio River.
Winfield worked alongside his father as a carpenter but also became an expert draftsman.
Winfield eventually left Indiana to stake his claim in Colorado. Before leaving Indiana, he actually attempted to shoot his father. I’m not sure about the full details surrounding that relationship, but there were obviously some serious issues.
After moving to Colorado, he joined the carpenters union until he developed an interest in mining. He then spent 17 years of his life wandering around the Pikes Peak region mining for gold in the off seasons during winter. Winfield knew he needed more education, so he studied at Colorado College and the School of Mines to understand his craft better.
He struck out for most of his career until he struck it rich with 2 of his claims. I’ve heard it said that Winfield was the most successful miner in Colorado’s history.
The thing about Winfield is that he didn’t love money or a life of luxury. Instead of living on Wood Ave. in Colorado Springs, known as “Millionaire’s Row”, he chose to live in a modest house on Weber Street.
It was said that the wealthy of the day were indignant of how Winfield spent his wealth. It had little to do with luxury and almost all to do with people.
There were several instances where he saw his fellow miners going through hard times, and he wrote them checks to keep them afloat – folks like Bob Womack in Cripple Creek among others.
When Cripple Creek had the most devastating fire in its history, Winfield told the city and the people he was going to absorb the entire cost of reconstruction. He also provided basic necessities to the people of Cripple Creek during that time.
Here in the Springs:
In 1900, Stratton purchased the city’s struggling street railway system and invested more than $2 million to make it one of the best trolley systems in the country. It featured 56 cars running on 36 miles of track. The line ran southwest and ended at his gift to the city, Cheyenne Park (later named Stratton Park). Families could spend a summer day at the lakes serenaded by bands. In the evening, citizens were treated to silent films powered by electricity from the railway’s power plant.
Stratton also brought America’s favorite pastime to the city. “He was the major contributor to building the first professional baseball stadium in Colorado Springs, at the corner of South Tejon and Cheyenne Boulevard, where the Colorado Springs Millionaires played in the Western League,” said Richard Marold. Marold has portrayed Stratton in hundreds of public performances since 1998 and wrote “The Reluctant Millionaire” based on his reading of Stratton’s personal and business papers.
Stratton’s contributions to common folk were providing bicycles to all the laundresses in town, aiding financially strapped miners and their families, funding the schooling of a talented teen violinist, fulfilling requests from downtrodden citizens, and much more.
He funded construction of the Independence Building (where his office was located) and the Mining Exchange Building which was intended to house the Mining Stock Exchange but was not completed until after his death. He also was instrumental in building City Hall, a post office and a court house (now the Pioneers Museum).
What Southern Mesa gets to be a part of:
Stratton’s greatest and most important legacy came from his will – in which he instructed that his fortune be used to establish and maintain a home, named after his father, for the elderly and orphans of Colorado Springs.
“I think his final gift to the Myron Stratton Home, which was the bulk of his estate, was about $13 million,” said Mayberry. “That’s about half a billion dollars today. It’s hard for us to think just how wealthy this man was.”
When Stratton died in 1902, he left instructions in his will that nearly all of his fortune was to be used to establish and maintain a home for poor people and be named in memory of his father, Myron Stratton.
His death was mourned by 8,600 people at the Mining Exchange.
One thing I can’t say for sure but can only surmise is that naming this building “Myron Stratton“ after his father, was Winfield’s way of expressing sorrow for attempting to shoot him – thus attempting to redeem that action.
All of this is a legacy.
Southern Mesa gets to be a part of the legacy in a small way. Myron Stratton was built at a time when social safety nets did not exist, and it’s a facility that has changed the lives of thousands, including a close family friend of mine whose life would have been in shambles had it not been for the orphanage that was a part of Myron Stratton at the time.
Getting to be a part of this project is an absolute privilege.
