Many who came West dreamed of finding gold, and with small grubstakes more than 12,000 people came, making Victor the fifth largest city in Colorado by 1900. Its glory days also brought entertainment, as Jack Dempsey trained at the fire station and Soapy Smith promoted bull fights at Gillette. Victor was the boyhood home of Lowell Thomas, the international radio and TV commentator. At its peak, Victor had 3 trains, 2 trolleys, 20 doctors, 6 churches, 12 labor unions, 15 attorneys, and 48 saloons. After Victor burned to the ground in August 1899, it was rebuilt overnight with the brick buildings seen today. Gold was discovered by Bob Womack near Cripple Creek in 1890, and over the years more than 500 mines employed more than 6000 miners. The Cresson Mine produced 60,000 ounces of gold from a room-sized crystalline vug 1200 feet below the surface. The Portland II Mine was 3500 feet deep, and the American Eagles was one of the highest at 10,750 feet. W. S. Stratton sold the legendary Independence Mine in 1899 for 11,000,000. The district has produced more than 22 million ounces of gold, and in 1994 Victor continued that heritage by supporting the largest gold mine in the state, the Cresson Mine of the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Co.