And the West is History: W.N. Searcy Electra Charter membership – 1910

Electra Sporting Club granted membership No. 7 to William Searcy of Silverton. The private club was formed in 1910 by prominent Silverton and Durango residents “to help preserve and enjoy the recreation found at Electra Lake.” The lake, constructed in 1904 and owned by the local power company, is used to store water for electricity generated by the Tacoma power plant on the Animas River. With approximately 100 member cabins, it remains a popular boating and fishing lake for its members, but nonmembers can also fish there. Searcy owned a cabin at the north end of the lake that was originally a stop on the old stagecoach road to Silverton. He had it disassembled, and the logs floated down the lake to a location farther south. Searcy was a lawyer in Silverton and Durango, as well as a judge in the 6th Judicial District Court, a position he held for 20 years. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Catalog Number: 07.04.10 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)