Animas Forks, Colorado The first log cabin in Animas Forks, a...

Animas Forks, Colorado

The first log cabin in Animas Forks, a former mining and mill town, was constructed in 1873 and by 1876 Animas Forks was a bustling mining community. The town eventually contained 30 cabins, a general store, a saloon, a hotel and a post office. By 1883, its population rose to 450 but every fall Animas Forks residents migrated en masse to the warmer town of Silverton, Colorado. In 1884, a 23-day blizzard inundated the town with 25 feet of snow and the residents had to dig tunnels to get from building to building.

When mining profits declined, further investment in Animas Forks was no longer justifiable. Mining made a brief comeback in 1904 when the Gold Prince Mill was constructed, but the town’s days were nearing an end regardless. A rail line ran through the area and stimulated mining interest in the community again but the railroad never quite reached its expectations and Gold Prince Mill closed in 1910 and seven years later, most of the mill was dismantled and major parts were taken to a new facility in Eureka, Colorado. Animas Forks was a ghost town by the 1920s.