HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1895 railroad depot turned mining history museum where phantom doors, footsteps, and a child in a polka-dot dress have been reported for decades.
5th St and Bennett Ave, Cripple Creek, CO 80813
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Modest general admission fee; see website for current rates
Access
Limited Access
Historic multi-level railroad depot; some areas have uneven floors and stairs
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1895 · Cripple Creek Gold District Railroad History · Colorado Midland Terminal Railroad · Late 19th-Century Mining Heritage
The Cripple Creek gold district was discovered in 1890 and by the mid-1890s had grown into one of the largest mining camps in the world, producing more than $800 million in gold over its active life. The Midland Terminal Railroad, an extension of the Colorado Midland, reached Cripple Creek in 1895 and built the depot at the corner of 5th Street and Bennett Avenue as its primary passenger and freight facility — considered the crown jewel of the line when it opened.
The depot served the district through the boom years and into the long contraction that followed the collapse of silver and then gold prices in the early twentieth century. As mining declined and the railroads pulled back, the building passed out of active railroad service. The Cripple Creek District Museum, founded to preserve the history of the mining district, eventually took over the depot and now uses it as its primary exhibition space.
The museum's collection covers mining equipment, railroad artifacts, historic photographs, and documents from the district's peak decades. The depot building itself — a survivor of the 1896 fires that destroyed most of Cripple Creek — retains much of its original fabric, including woodwork and floor plans that paranormal investigators have cited in their reports.
Sources
The Cripple Creek District Museum ranks among the more consistently reported haunted sites in a town with no shortage of them. Staff members have described hearing doors open and close in sections of the depot where the original doorways were long since sealed or removed — a detail that surfaces in multiple independent accounts and is not easily attributed to building settlement or HVAC.
A child apparition in a polka-dot dress has been seen by both staff and visitors on separate occasions. Accounts place her in different parts of the building; no historical identity has been confirmed. Disembodied voices and footsteps, particularly in the evening after the public has left, are the most commonly reported phenomena and the ones most often described by museum employees rather than visitors.
Mountain Peak Paranormal has conducted documented investigations of the Midland Terminal building and recorded their findings. Ghost hunting author Jan Mackell Collins, who has written extensively about Cripple Creek's history, documented the depot's paranormal reputation as part of a broader survey of the town's haunted sites.
Notable Entities
Explore the 1895 Midland Terminal Depot building and its exhibits covering the gold-rush era, railroad history, and Cripple Creek's mining heritage. The building's reputation for paranormal activity — phantom door sounds, unexplained footsteps, and a child apparition — surfaces in conversation with museum staff.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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