And the West is History: American Smelting and Refining Co. band – 1916

The San Juan and New York Smelter relocated from Silverton to Durango in 1881, immediately becoming the region’s economic engine. Its name changed in 1899 to the American Smelting and Refining Co. and continued to dominate the local economy with its large labor force, employing 350 workers by 1902. Durango retail businesses accommodated smelter employees by staying open late into the evening on paydays. The company sponsored semi-pro baseball teams and bands like the one depicted in this photo. Plummeting precious metal prices at the onset of the Great Depression led to the smelter’s closure. It reopened during World War II with the increasing demand for vanadium and uranium refining. The smelter continued to refine uranium for the Atomic Energy Commission through the Cold War years. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 92.22.273 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)