And the West is History: Fort Lewis parade float – ca. 1930

In 1911, the 18th Colorado General Assembly established Fort Lewis School, an agricultural and mechanical school, to be overseen by the State Board of Agriculture. The boarding high school opened fall 1911 with George W. Snyder as principal. Between 1927 and 1933, the Hesperus campus of Fort Lewis held both high school and college classes. This float in the Durango Independence Day parade has both “F.L.S” (Fort Lewis School), denoting the high school, and “Fort Lewis College” on its sides. By 1933, high school classes were discontinued, and Fort Lewis became a junior college strictly. This image was taken along Main Avenue in the 1200 block. Today, Buckley Park is located where the Ferris wheel is seen. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 17.21.4 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)