Animas Forks History
At an elevation of over 11,500 feet, Animas Forks is one of the loftiest mining towns ever established in the West. According to the 1885 publication Crofutt's Grip-sack Guide of Colorado, the town is "in the midst of wild and rugged country, where nothing but rich mines would ever induce a human being to live longer than necessary."
Animas Fork's first cabin was built in 1873, making it one of the earliest settlements in the San Juan Mountains. A post office was established in 1875 and by 1876 the camp had become an active mining community. The town had 30 cabins, a hotel, a general store, a saloon, and a post office. In 1882 a newspaper, the Animas Forks Pioneer, began publication and lasted until October 1886.
An article from 1875 stated "from Eureka up to the Forks of the Animas, we have only a trail, and not a very good one at that." A toll road was completed that summer from Lake City to Animas Forks.
An article from an August, 1875 edition of the Las Animas Leader noted:
At Animas Forks, the present terminus of the Saguache and Lake City toll road, there is quite a little settlement, and it will in my opinion, at no far distant day be the leading town of the San Juan mines.
From the mines of Lake City district to the placer diggings of La Plata, a distance of about sixty miles, as the crow flies, and situated within ten miles of the richest mineral section upon the face of God’s foot-stool is the Animas Forks, the town of La Plata. Parties are now making arrangements to put up saw mills, reduction works, smelters, separators and all such works are are necessary to work the rich mines of this neighborhood and the Uncompahgre.
Despite it's alpine location, mining and nearby stamp mills kept the town growing. By 1883 450 people lived in Animas Forks.
Every fall most of the residents of Animas Forks migrated to Silverton. In 1884 a 23 day blizzard inundated the town with 25 feet of snow, the residents had to dig tunnels to get from building to building.
The steep terrain and high elevation left Animas Forks at the mercy of extreme weather. In March of 1877 a massive snow slide completely destroyed the recently completed San Juan smelting works along with a saw mill and 3 cabins. The losses were estimated at $30,000.
Mining in the area began to decline by the late 1880s and Animas Forks' future looked uncertain. The arrival of the Silverton Northern Railroad in 1896 provided some relief. This railroad, which connected Silverton with Animas Forks, was projected to extend to Mineral Point, then through the mountains to Lake City, however it never extended any further than Animas Forks.
In 1905, construction began on the massive Gold Prince mill at Animas Forks, resulting a significant boost to the town’s prosperity. The August 15, 1905 edition of The Durango Democrat reported:
Visitors to Animas Forks are surprised at the amount of work going on in that vicinity. The old houses have been repaired, new ones are being built, and the streets are numbered. Four saloons are running full blast, and 160 men, with machine drills, are at work excavating for the Gold Prince mill, a large number are employed at various other workings about the place, and all in all, Animas Forks is a regular bee hive.
The Gold Prince Mill closed in 1910 and in 1917 most of the mill's machinery was removed for a new mill in nearby Eureka. The mill's dismantling signaled the beginning of the end for Animas Forks and it became a ghost town by the 1920s.
Today Animas Forks is a popular ghost town that is visited by thousands of people every year. The town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Remaining structures include the Duncan house built in 1879, several other homes, a miner's boarding house, the foundation of the Gold Prince mill, and the historic town jail.
The jail building has been restored and features solid walls that are six inches thick, designed to keep prisoners in and lynch mobs out. The building has just two cells, so prisoners were usually transported to Silverton to pay a fine or face the judge. The jail was said to have once housed the town's own mayor, who was incarcerated by a local judge for contempt of court.
The Gold Prince Mine and Mill
The Gold Prince mill at Animas Forks, Colorado was built at the enormous cost of $500,000 in the first decade of the 1900s, but was mostly a failure. This series of photos takes a look at the Gold Prince mine and mill. Continue reading... (members only content)
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