And the West is History: Fort Lewis College Hesperus campus – 1951

This color image shows part of the old Fort Lewis campus in May 1951. From left to right are the administration building, Snyder Hall (boys dorm), the dining hall, the greenhouse and the science building. The state of Colorado took control of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Indian School in 1911, placing it under the state Board of Agriculture as a high school of agriculture. Starting in 1924, Fort Lewis transitioned to a two-year college, establishing a junior college curriculum in 1927. High school classes ended in 1933. By 1950, Fort Lewis offered extension courses in Durango. The school moved to its present Durango location in 1956. In 1962, Fort Lewis became a four-year institution granting baccalaureate degrees. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 23.42.4 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections).