And the West is History: Durango downtown street scene – 1881

This photograph, taken by R.B. Collins, shows contractors digging a cistern to store water for the fire department at the intersection of First Street (later Main Avenue) and G Street (later Ninth Street) in January 1881. The cistern was completed on Feb. 16, 1882. A second cistern was also built at the intersection of First Street and I Street (later 11th Street). These cisterns were built to supply water for firefighting before Durango built a water distribution system with fire hydrants. The city of Durango had ordered a Silsby Steam Fire Pumper, but it had not yet arrived from the factory. The city also contracted for the construction of a brick fire house/city hall that was to be completed before the arrival of the new fire engine. The new engine would be used to pump water from the Animas River to fill the cisterns on Main Avenue. The cisterns were to be lined with brick and sealed with tar. However, the cisterns never held water and were considered a total waste of taxpayers’ money. This intersection was the major business block in early Durango. Buildings in this block survived the Great Fire of July 1, 1889, but then sustained a series of smaller fires that destroyed all of the original frame buildings by 1904. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 98.28.1 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)