And the West is History: Sleigh Ride Near Breen – ca. 1905

One of a history museum’s chief frustrations is having interesting pictures with no background information. This image is typical of that. The people seem to be greatly enjoying themselves in this outdoor winter scene. Unfortunately, the exact location, time and people pictured seem to be lost. We know from pictures donated in the same group that the area was likely the rural area west of Durango around Breen or Hesperus. Based on the clothing worn by people in other pictures within the donation, this one is most likely between 1900 and 1910. As for the people pictured, there just isn’t anything available that would put names to faces. Families that write dates, places and names on the back of photographs with a soft pencil are truly history “champions” to historical societies. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 13.23.1.55 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)