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1955 Map of Silverton

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Silverton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

Silverton serves as the central hub of this mid-century topographic survey, where the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad terminates at the confluence of the Animas River and Cement Creek. The landscape is a dense network of industrial history, dominated by mining operations like the Mayflower Mill, Lackawanna Mine, and Aspen Mine. Beyond the town, the high-altitude environment is defined by towering peaks such as Sultan Mountain, Kendall Mountain, and Anvil Mountain, with steep gulches carving through the San Juan National Forest.

The infrastructure of the 1950s is clearly delineated, from the Million Dollar Highway winding through the mountains to the Airstrip and Hillside Cem on the town's periphery. Traces of earlier mountain travel are visible at Burro Bridge and the small settlement of Chattanooga. This map captures the San Juan mining district at a time when traditional extraction remained a primary economic driver, evidenced by dozens of named mines including the Brooklyn Mine and Hercules Mine scattered across the surrounding slopes.