Photo: Day drinking in Hesperus

Jack Cunningham’s saloon in Hesperus was next to a not-quite-so-popular grocery store in 1890. Hesperus began as a small farming community along the La Plata River. When the Fort Lewis military post was moved from Pagosa Springs to just south of Hesperus in 1880, the community grew to support the post. Decommissioned in 1890, the post became the Indian School in 1892. The abandonment by the military was an economic loss for Hesperus, but this was somewhat mitigated by the start of the school. The arrival of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad in 1890 helped as well. The first train from Durango arrived later that year. The Indian School existed until 1911. The campus then became a high school from 1911 to 1933. The two-year Fort Lewis A&M College was also located there from 1927 until the move to Durango in 1956.<br><br>Ed Horvat for The Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org