The City of Durango is a “railroad town,” if ever there was one. Today those of us at Legacy Properties West call it home, but long before we arrived, this beautiful valley we live in had a rich and colorful history. We invite you to take a step back in time to experience the history of Durango.
The ancestral Puebloans were the first settlers in the region, followed by the Ute and Navajo tribes. These indigenous peoples left behind a landscape dotted with ancient stone cities. Today nearby sites like Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon are considered some of the most important archeological resources in the country.
Next, the Spanish explored the area with the1776 missionary expedition of Dominguez and Escalante giving names to many of the local landmarks. Today, what they called the Rio de las Animas Perdidas – River of Lost Souls – is known as the Animas River along who’s banks our city lies.
After the missionaries came the mountain men, followed shortly by prospectors hot on the heels of gold and silver discoveries along the upper Animas River in 1860. In fact, one prospector’s assertion that the mountainsides didn’t contain much gold but rather “silver by the ton” earned the nearby town of Silverton its name.
In 1876, the same year Colorado became a state, Animas City was founded in a green valley along the banks of the Animas River. The city boasted a population of 286 residents consisting of farmers, ranchers, miners. In 1881 Denver & Rio Grande Railway saw a need for a railroad to help connect the mining town of Silverton with the coal and smelting operations of Durango. Negotiations were entered into, but no agreement could be reached.
In 1880, the president of the railroad, General William J. Palmer, along with William A. Bell and John A. Porter selected a site two miles south of Animas City to build their depot. There had originally been talk of calling it Palmer City after the D&RG visionary or Smelter City after the smelter. But, in the end, former territorial governor A.C. Hunt was given the honor, and he chose the name, Durango. A name that originates from the Basque word “Urango” meaning “water town” or “well-watered place.” As the story goes, Hunt was traveling through Durango, Mexico at the time when the name was being decided and thought the two regions looked alike.
Durango was surveyed and plotted by civil engineer Charles Perin in September 1880. His original grid of streets with defined enterprise, business and residential district remains today. In fact, a stroll through Downtown Durango, as well as 2nd and 3rd avenues today reflects the original design and Victorian heritage of the past. Downtown looks much the same in modern times as it did in the past. Animas City, now called Uptown Main, was incorporated into Durango in 1948.
Over the years, our railroad town has evolved into a vibrant and modern city with all the conveniences of current times, all the wilderness you could want, and more old-world charm than you can imagine. Once a railroad town, always a railroad town, and to this day you can ride the Durango Silverton Narrow Guage Railroad along the same tracks and through the same mountains as the settlers who made this place what i is today. And, if Durango looks like the kind of place you’d like to call home, stop by and see us at Legacy Properties West Sotheby’s International Realty in Downtown Durango or Trimble Crossings today!