And the West is History: Main Avenue and 31st Street – ca. 1952

The northern end of Main Avenue was not paved in the early 1950s when this photo was taken. The Joy Cabin is shown at its original site on the northeast corner of the intersection. Believed to have been constructed as early as 1874, it is the oldest standing structure in Durango. Initially situated in Animas City, the builder and first resident remain unidentified. A blacksmith shop operated from the adjoining structure shown to the left of the cabin by 1876. Because the first verifiable occupant was C.B. Joy, it became known as the “Joy Cabin.” In 1958, it was moved from this location to Brookside Park on the 2300 block of Main Avenue, just north of today’s Durango Chamber of Commerce. Moved again in 1988 to the grounds of the Animas Museum, it underwent a 10-year restoration conducted by Charles DiFerdinando. The cabin now resides one block from where it was originally built. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 88.10.70.1 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)