And the West is History: Early Animas City Street Scene – 1880

This very early picture shows Animas City in its heyday. It was still the dominant community in the area, but the writing was on the wall for its demotion to second city status. With the coming of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and the establishment of Durango about 2 miles south, businesses and residents were already starting to move to the newer town. The G.W. Kephart General Outfitting Store, shown in the middle of this picture, was one of those that eventually moved. Still, Animas City existed as an incorporated city until 1948 when it was annexed into Durango. A picture taken of this same location today would show the Spanish Trails Motel along the 3100 block of Main Avenue. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 86.03.42 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)