Mountains in search of wealth. They soon found deposits of gold and silver along the Animas River in an area later called "Baker's Park".
In 1874, the Silverton town site was laid out and it soon became the center of the numerous mining camps located along the Animas River. In addition to the miners, Silverton caught the eye of railroad companies. In July 1882, the first train operated by the Denver&Rio Grande rolled into Silverton from Durango. By 1883, Silverton boasted having a population of 2,000 people with 400 buildings - two banks, five laundries, 32 saloons and several hotels. An invisible line ran
down Greene Street keeping the respectable side of town divided from the bawdry red light district - the infamous Blair Street.
During Silverton's early history, Blair Street developed as the red-light district. In May 1883, a Grand Jury brought 117 indictments against "lewd women". Prostitutes were fined $5.00 plus court costs and dance halls that were open on Sunday were fined $25.00.
Although fines were levied, gambling and prostitution were generally accepted as long as the practice did not migrate into the more respectable sections of town. Lascivious behavior was not necessarily
condemned, as fines were readily used for the growing community. Today there is still a town ordinance on the books prohibiting curtains on saloon windows. The law wanted to see what was going on inside those dens of iniquity. By the 1940's most of the gambling was over and the "ladies" had moved on, citing competition from the local girls who "gave it away" in fits of patriotic fervor during WWII. The old saloons on Blair Street had a rebirth in the 1950's as movie sets, where westerns such as "Run for Cover", "Across The Wide Missouri", and "True Grit" were shot.
Today, Silverton is nationally noted for its excellent preservation of such unique history, buildings, Silverton Mountain Ski Area, Kendall Mountain Reservation Area, the scenic highway and back country byways, small town friendliness and as a year round recreational paradise.
Due to a slow market and low demand, mining in Silverton closed down in the early 1990's. However, there's still gold and silver in those mountains and rumor has it that mining will be back one day. Along the road side you can still see the remnants of mining shacks and tunnels.
Along the road are many waterfalls as the snow melt-off makes its way to the rivers.
We want to rent a jeep and go off-road mountain climbing this coming week. We will keep you posted on that outing.,.. until later hope everyone is well.....
Love to all, Candy and Johnny
