Known almost since its establishment in 1881 as “Smelter City,” Durango owed its early existence to the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, coal deposits and the smelting industry. The Greene Smelter was purchased and moved from Silverton to form the basis of the San Juan & New York Smelter, which began operating on April 1, 1881, in Durango. By 1899, it was absorbed into the conglomerate called the American Smelting & Refining Co. owned by the Guggenheim family. This photo shows the Powerhouse with four smokestacks and some of the plant as it looked before the Great Depression caused the closure of ore smelting in the 1930s. Across the river, much of the south end of Durango is visible. At left, mid-photo is a line of tanker cars parked on a siding. The structure to the right of the tanker cars was the Durango Ore Sampling Works office on Third Avenue at Third Street. In later years, it was home to the Koshak family. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, [email protected] (Catalog Number: 89.13.4 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)
