Originally built as a two-story residence in 1878, a third floor was added in 1888. 

The building complex is an intact example of an early high country agricultural operation.  Noted for the cattle that supplied the area miners with beef, hay and grain were also cultivated on the ranch.

The log cabin was built in 1879 by Leadville banker and mining magnate James V. Dexter for use as a hunting lodge.

Although a large rambling, log and wood frame building on the approximately 8½-acre site dates from earlier ranching operations, the property primarily reflects its association with the mining activities occurring there from 1906 to 1923.  Ditches, ponds, and tailings piles continue to dot the landscape.

Talus Village is one of only three excavated Basketmaker II sites in Colorado, and the extent of wood preservation at the site allowed for the first complete understanding of Basketmaker II pithouse construction.  

As Durango’s first educational facility dedicated solely to junior high classes, the building served as the city’s only junior high school from its construction in 1937 until a second junior high opened in 1961.  

The 1890 Rochester Hotel represents a working class hotel / boarding house typical of the type that catered to tourists, salesmen and long term tenants less affluent that those attracted to Durango’s more elaborate and expensive hotels.

The circa 1884 wood frame house, of Victorian eclectic design, is an early example of residential construction by Animas Valley settlers.  Very few homes from this early settlement period still exist.

With its corner tower, steeply pitched multi-gabled roof, and prominent decorative porches, this 1890 building is an important local example of the Queen Anne style.

Construction began in 1891 on this three-story sandstone commercial building, which is the only expression of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Durango.