Outfit Bunk Car 04432 is a converted revenue boxcar originally built in 1899 and repurposed in 1914 as living quarters for rail workers servicing railroad water facilities along the rail line, work which was critical to the steam-powered narrow gauge railroad.

Originally built in 1918 as one of ten flatcars in Class 21, Flatcar 6215 was entirely of wood. In 1937 D&RGW rebuilt the car, extending the length two feet and adding large 8” x 6” angle irons to the center and side sills and other metal bracing to strengthen it.

Built in the 1890s and rebuilt in 1943, the Flanger OT cleared snow and ice from the side of the tracks for the Railroad’s narrow gauge lines. DR&G patented “the snow flanger” in 1885, and continued to refine and improve the design, resulting in many different blade shapes, sizes and configurations over the years.

Constructed in 1928 under a special use permit within the San Juan National Forest, this two-story Rustic style log building with its unusual cross-shaped plan represents early 20th century Forest Service land use policies no longer in effect. 

Animas Forks is significant as a representative and relatively well-preserved ghost town for its association with commerce, industry, exploration and settlement, social history and architecture.  It was active during the peak of hard-rock silver and gold mining in the San Juan mountains.  When established in 1875, the community was strategically situated at the confluence of the East and West Forks of the Animas River, in the center of a region being extensively prospected and developed for hard-rock silver and gold mining.  After the initial boom of the early and middle 1880

Constructed in 1876-77, the Animas Cañón Toll Road was the main route between Animas City (north of Durango) and Silverton during the development of the mining camps in the surrounding region. Prior to the toll road’s construction, isolation was an impediment to the settlement of Silverton and the development of its mines, with trails and roads impassable for nearly six months of the year. Sufficient supplies and equipment were brought in with great difficulty and only the highest grade ore was transported out.

Constructed in 1876-77, the Animas Cañón Toll Road was the main route between Animas City (north of Durango) and Silverton during the development of the mining camps in the surrounding region. Prior to the toll road’s construction, isolation was an impediment to the settlement of Silverton and the development of its mines, with trails and roads impassable for nearly six months of the year. Sufficient supplies and equipment were brought in with great difficulty and only the highest grade ore was transported out.

The circa 1905 Placer Gulch Boarding House is a rare surviving example of a 1½ story boarding house from the hard-rock mining era in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.  The building originally had private living quarters, a kitchen, dining room and large storage room on the first floor with benches and individual beds on the second.  An adit to the Prospect Mine is just down the slope from the boarding house and the Gold Prince aerial tramway passes through this site. 

The boarding house and the adjacent tramhouse reflect important engineering aspects of high altitude hard rock mining.  Constructed in 1904, two-thousand feet up a mountain face, these buildings illustrate the resourcefulness, perseverance and technology needed to mine the rugged San Juans. 

The camp was occupied during the summer months from the 1930s until 1966 by the Raber family of Kannah Creek as part of their cattle ranching operation.  One of the log cabins on the site was built in 1931 or 1932; the other dates from 1933 or 1934.