SILVERTON

Tourism era

The town has a long history of tourism and efforts to market tourism by the Silverton Commercial Club (now the Chamber of Commerce) dates back as early as 1913. By the 1930s, interest in the “Old West” was already attracting tourists from around the world, for which the newly constructed U.S. Route 550 further enabled access. Tourism continued to increase in the latter part of the 20th century, but Silverton's harsh winters and isolation made it a summer-only attraction. Following the closure of Sunnyside, Silverton lost much of its tax base as the town's population dwindled to just over 500, a quarter of its peak population one hundred years earlier.

The town's scenic 3 ft (0.91 m) narrow-gauge railroad, originally built by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (later renamed the Denver and Rio Grande Western or D&RGW) primarily to haul ore to Durango, became popular as a tourist attraction, and this traffic increased after World War II when the line was featured in several popular western films and its staff began actively promoting tourism. As mining and other rail freight declined, the D&RGW petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1960 to abandon the line, but the petition was denied due to the strong tourist traffic. In December 1968, the D&RGW discontinued service on its Alamosa–Durango line west of Antonito, Colorado, and formally abandoned the line in 1969, severing Silverton's only remaining connection to the national rail network. The Silverton–Durango line now served tourists exclusively, and in 1980, the D&RGW sold it to an independent operator who renamed it the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG). Operations continue today, bringing several trainloads of tourists to Silverton daily during operating season, and the D&SNG also operates a museum in the town.

The town's population, buoyed by strong summer tourism and an emerging winter economy, has since recovered. The construction of the expert-level ski area Silverton Mountain in 2002 marked the beginning of Silverton's year-round tourism. Another ski area, the Purgatory Resort, is marketed as being within the Durango Metropolitan Area but is actually closer to Silverton than it is to Durango. Winter festivals such as Skijoring have brought crowds that rival those in the summer, and the potential for new winter activities such as the expansion of the town-operated ski hill could permanently improve Silverton's winter tourism. The town has also become well known for its winter backcountry activities such as snowmobiling, ice climbing, and backcountry skiing.

Both the town and the rail line were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. In 1966, the entire town was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. These boundaries were expanded in 1997 with the addition of the Shenandoah-Dives mill and other historical structures. The town's only grocery store is the Silverton Grocery & Deli, formerly called the Greene Street Grocery.

Notable disasters

The area surrounding Silverton has been the scene of several well-documented disasters, many of them due to avalanches and mining accidents.

1906 avalanches

Five miners perished in a slide at the Sunnyside mine in January 1906. Only a few months later, twelve miners were killed in another slide at the Shenandoah Mine, making it one of the most deadly slides in the history of Colorado.

1918 influenza pandemic

The Spanish Flu arrived in Silverton near the end of October 1918, and quickly devastated the community. In a single week, 125 people, more than 5% of the town's population, perished from flu complications. By the time the pandemic waned the following March, 246 people had died, accounting to more than 10% of the population. This gave Silverton the dubious honor of having the highest mortality rate for the Spanish Flu in the entire nation.