GHOSTS OF THE WESTERN SAN JUANS VOL. I

The first strike was made in 1875, and the town of Las Animas was laid out two years later. It was in such an isolated location, at 11,500 feet, that lots and aid in building homes were offered to those willing to come. More than a thousand did, but many left during the winter months. Those who stayed braved snowslides and drifts up to 25 feet deep. Buildings had to be constructed with finished lumber and have high roofs. The standard miners' cabins could not survive.

By 1876, Animas Forks boasted 30 cabins, a post office, saloon, general store, hotel, two mills, and a population of 200. In 1877, the wagon road was extended to the town from Eureka. It was later improved by Otto Mears, and existed as a toll road from Silverton to Lake City.

The winter of 1884 was especially rough. One storm lasted for 23 days. Many of the miners spent the season in Frank Thaler's saloon, beating each other at poker. After each storm they would carve a notch in a nearby telephone pole. One slide covered the valley with 250 feet of snow. It became packed solidly enough that it could be driven on, and when it started to melt at the bottom, a snow tunnel was made that was large enough to drive through.

Animas Forks prospered during the late 1870s and 1880s, but it started to decline in the 1890s. The Gold Prince Mill was moved to Eureka in 1917, and Animas Forks became nearly deserted. The large Bagley Mill still stands, as do several cabins and houses. The most interesting house is a three-story structure which has a large picture window. Rumor has it that the house was owned by Thomas F. Walsh before he struck it rich at the Camp Bird Mine above Ouray, and that in later years Walsh's daughter, Evenlyn Walsh McLean, stayed in the house while writing her biography, Father Struck It Rich. The stone foundations at the lower end of town once supported the Gold Prince Mill.

Read more – including how the railroad handled the heavy snows – in Ghosts of the Western San Juans, Volume I, one in a series of concise books on the ghost towns and mining camps in Colorado.

Animas Forks	Arrastra	Barker City and Barker Park
Bandora	Beatown	Camp Bird
Capital City	Carson	Cattanooga
Dallas City	Engineer City	Eureka
Fisherville	Guston	Henson
Highland Mary	Howerdsville	Ironton
Lake City	Lost Trail Camp	Middleton
Mineral Point	Niegoldtown	Ouray
Ploghkeepsie	Red Mountain	Ridgway
Rose's Cabin	Ruby	Sherman
Silver Lake	Silverton	Sneffels
Tellurium	Timber Hill	Titusville
Whitecross