A resident of Central City, James E. Lightbourn was a merchant and mining entrepreneur. He was the proprietor of a local lumber yard, formerly the Gilpin Lumber Company, in addition to maintaining an active interest in mining. In 1901, he purchased at a sheriff's sale the Rollins Gold and Silver Mining Company, with properties in the Independent and South Boulder Mining districts. Lightbourn and Thomas H. Potter conveyed these properties to the Perigo Mines, Land and Townsite Company in 1903. They were the largest stockholders in that enterprise.