Photo: Durango Flour Mill – 1892

This picture shows the San Juan/Guyles & Graden Flour Mill. It was located about midway between today’s Albertsons and the DoubleTree Hotel along the Animas River. Owner Thomas Graden was early Durango’s most successful businessman. He was part of the syndicate that established Durango and sold lots. He owned a number of sawmills in the area, a slaughterhouse, feedlots, this flour mill, a coal mine, a mercantile store, a foundry and a streetcar company. He retired to Hollywood, California, and died in 1924, leaving an important business legacy to Durango and the surrounding area. <br><br>Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org