And the West is History: Bayfield Filling Station – 1933

This Conoco filling station was located at the western end of Mill Street in Bayfield. The two brothers pictured from left are Delpha (D.D.) and Homer Wells. Delpha was a well-known, successful Bayfield businessman for nearly 50 years. Besides this station, he variously owned drug, grocery and liquor stores. He also owned a used car dealership in Durango. A native of Bayfield, he also served as a town trustee and mayor. He did have a bit of notoriety, however. In 1939, he was fined $100 for selling liquor on Sundays. That was to be the least of his legal troubles. When someone broke into his liquor store in 1954, he was charged with property damage for breaking all the windows of the accused’s abandoned vehicle parked behind his store. He was found innocent. His legal troubles reached a pinnacle in September 1959 when he was charged with the killing of an Ignacio youth following an armed confrontation after a downtown Bayfield event held to celebrate the paving of Mill Street. The trial in Durango was one of the biggest news stories of 1960. The jury had the option of deciding if Wells committed second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter. He was acquitted on all counts. Wells died in Durango in 1987 at the age of 79. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 10.05.400 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections).