And the West is History: Early Durango View – 1901

When this picture was taken in 1901, the photographer, Whitman Cross, was standing on what was then known as Water Works Mesa, the location of the city’s reservoir. Today, Fort Lewis College is on the site. The view is toward the northwest with the tree-lined Junction Creek prominent. The church on the left is St. Columba. The building next to it is St. Mary’s Academy. The large building farther to the right, in the middle of the picture, is Mercy Hospital. Today, the Durango Public Library is located on that property. The Durango Fish Hatchery is now where the fields are at the very bottom of the photograph. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 15.33.169 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)