1901 Map of Silverton

About this map

The town of Silverton serves as the industrial and logistical heart of the San Juan Mountains in this turn-of-the-century survey. Three distinct rail lines, including the Silverton R. R. and the Silverton Northern R. R., fan out from the town to serve a landscape of high-altitude mining settlements. Notable camps and supply points like Animas Forks, Howardsville, and Guston are connected by these narrow-gauge routes, tracing the steep drainages of the Animas River and Mineral Creek. High peaks such as Sultan Mt. and Grand Turk overlook a network of basins and gulches that defined the region's mineral wealth. The presence of the Uncompahgre National Forest and other forest reserves underscores the transition from a purely extractive economy to managed public lands. Tracing these rail beds and vanished post offices offers a window into the peak era of Colorado silver mining before the eventual decline of these remote mountain outposts.