Animas Forks, Colorado
Encyclopedia
Animas Forks is a ghost town
located twelve miles (19 km) northeast of Silverton
in San Juan County
, Colorado
, United States
. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management
.
, Ouray
, and Silverton. Most of the land in the area is managed by either the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management
. The Alpine Loop is visited by over 100,000 people each year. Animas Forks, at an elevation of 11200 feet (3,413.8 m) is more than two miles (3 km) above sea level.
The unimproved road from Silverton to Animas Forks is passable in summer by two-wheel drive vehicles. Beyond Animas Forks, the road over Engineer Pass to Lake City recommends four-wheel drive.
, began publication and lasted until October 1886. Every fall the residents of Animas Forks migrated en masse to the warmer town of Silverton. In 1884 a 23 day blizzard inundated the town with 25 feet (7.6 m) of snow, the residents had to dig tunnels to get from building to building. Mining, speculation and processing mills helped Animas Forks grow.
. The mill's dismantling signaled the beginning of the end for Animas Forks and the town was a ghost town by the 1920s.
The site is managed collaboratively by the Bureau of Land Management and San Juan County, which provide interpretive brochures and maps at an adjacent parking area. Although entry into the buildings is unrestricted, some of the flooring is reported to be fragile and subject to collapse.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
located twelve miles (19 km) northeast of Silverton
Silverton, Colorado
The town of Silverton is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, San Juan County, Colorado, United States. Silverton is a former silver mining camp, most or all of which is now included in a federally designated National Historic Landmark District,...
in San Juan County
San Juan County, Colorado
San Juan County is the least populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado in the United States. The county name is the Spanish language name for “Saint John”, the name Spanish explorers gave to a river and the mountain range in the area. The county population was 558 at U.S. Census 2000...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
.
Location
Animas Forks is located on a system of roads known as the Alpine Loop. The loop is a 65 miles (104.6 km) system of unpaved roads which connects the small mountain towns of Lake CityLake City, Colorado
The Town of Lake City is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 375 at the U.S. Census 2000...
, Ouray
Ouray, Colorado
The historic City of Ouray is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 813 at the U.S. Census 2000 and 1,000 as of the U.S. Census 2010...
, and Silverton. Most of the land in the area is managed by either the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
. The Alpine Loop is visited by over 100,000 people each year. Animas Forks, at an elevation of 11200 feet (3,413.8 m) is more than two miles (3 km) above sea level.
The unimproved road from Silverton to Animas Forks is passable in summer by two-wheel drive vehicles. Beyond Animas Forks, the road over Engineer Pass to Lake City recommends four-wheel drive.
History
The town's first log cabin was built in 1873 and by 1876 the community had become a bustling mining community. At that time the town contained 30 cabins, a hotel, a general store, a saloon, and a post office. By 1883 450 people lived in Animas Forks and in 1882 a newspaper, the Animas Forks PioneerAnimas Forks Pioneer
The Animas Forks Pioneer newspaper began publication in 1882 and lasted only four years, ceasing publication in October 1886....
, began publication and lasted until October 1886. Every fall the residents of Animas Forks migrated en masse to the warmer town of Silverton. In 1884 a 23 day blizzard inundated the town with 25 feet (7.6 m) of snow, the residents had to dig tunnels to get from building to building. Mining, speculation and processing mills helped Animas Forks grow.
Decline
When mining profits began to decline investment in Animas Forks was no longer justified and although mining made a brief 1904 rebound with the construction of the Gold Prince Mill, the town's mining days were nearing an end. A rail line ran through the area and also restimulated interest in mining in the community but the railroad never reached its expectations. The Gold Prince Mill closed in 1910 and in 1917 most of the mill's major parts were removed for a new facility in EurekaEureka, Colorado
Eureka is a mining ghost town in San Juan County, Colorado, United States, along the Animas River, between Silverton and Animas Forks.-History:...
. The mill's dismantling signaled the beginning of the end for Animas Forks and the town was a ghost town by the 1920s.
The ghost town today
The site continues as a tourist attraction. A Colorado State Historical Fund grant to San Juan County, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, provided for stabilization of the remaining structures in 1997 and 1998.The site is managed collaboratively by the Bureau of Land Management and San Juan County, which provide interpretive brochures and maps at an adjacent parking area. Although entry into the buildings is unrestricted, some of the flooring is reported to be fragile and subject to collapse.
External links
- Tour of Animas Forks and the Alpine Loop, photo gallery at BLMBLMBLM may stand for: Saint Barthélemy using ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code*Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren, a railway in Switzerland, part funicular, part adhesion*Bilayer lipid membrane*Black Mage, a job in Final Fantasy XI...
- Photos from 2005 and 2007 of Animas Forks Colorado Ghost Town site provided By Rocky Mountain Profiles
- Full Resolution Ghost Town and Historic Site Photos by Coloradopast.com