Gold built Cripple Creek. Conflict threatened to destroy it.
In 1904, Cripple Creek was one of the richest gold camps in America. Wealth flowed from the mines, businesses thrived, and fortune seekers arrived daily in search of opportunity.
But beneath the prosperity, a bitter struggle was unfolding.
As mine owners and labor unions battle for power, strikes, sabotage, blacklisting, and violence spread through the camp. Neighbors are forced to choose sides. Friendships fracture. Families find themselves caught in a conflict that reaches far beyond the mines and into every corner of the community.
For Abby Bosini, her brother Lon, and miner Ben McNall, the turmoil becomes personal. When a devastating explosion rocks the town, lives are shattered and the future of Cripple Creek hangs in the balance.
Inspired by real events, Mister Hamlin's List brings one of the most turbulent chapters of Colorado history vividly to life. Rich in historical detail and frontier drama, this compelling novel explores the human cost of division, ambition, and power.
Perfect for readers of Colorado historical fiction, Western historical novels, and stories inspired by true events, Mister Hamlin's List transports readers to a time when fortunes were made, loyalties were tested, and an entire community found itself caught in a struggle that would shape its future.
Stan Moore is a husband, father, grandfather; a third generation Coloradan; a graduate of the University of Colorado; an author and historian; a Vietnam veteran; a retired small business owner; a (very) amateur blacksmith, and an avid mountaineer, backpacker and desert rat. Moore and his wife make their home near Denver with a cat that lets them stay there.
Moore is an accomplished watercolorist who lives in the Denver area.