Durango – Three southwestern Colorado communities have received recognition from the Department of the Interior and federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for their achievements in using heritage to stimulate economic development.
Deputy Secretary of Interior Lynn Scarlett honored Durango, Montezuma County and Pagosa Springs as three Preserve America communities with compelling and unique stories in heritage tourism.
Durango has preserved its narrow-gauge rail since 1881, when the line was constructed to haul Silverton’s ore to smelters in Durango. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad annually carries 200,000 visitors from all over the world from its depot on Durango’s Victorian-era Main Avenue through the wild Animas River Canyon to Silverton.
Montezuma County has been a trading center for more than 2,000 years for native people, Spanish explorers and pioneer ranchers and farmers. From Mesa Verde National Park to the Anasazi Heritage Center, and from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park to Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients national monuments, the county has world-renowned archaeological preserves that chronicle centuries of Ancestral Pueblo settlement, Navajo and Ute migration and Spanish exploration.
The center of Pagosa Springs is its naturally occurring mineral springs. The town’s name is a Ute word for “healing waters.” The springs were a source of conflict between the Utes and Navajos for decades until the federal government claimed ownership in 1880, leading to Anglo settlement of the area. In the early 20th century, local residents started to promote the springs and the mountainous area’s scenic beauty to attract tourists.
“Preserve America communities illustrate the importance of historic preservation to economic development,” John L. Nau III, chairman of the advisory council, said in Durango on Friday. “Through Preserve America grants, these communities and many others can continue to invest in their future by preserving their past.”
For more information on the program, go to PreserveAmerica .gov.
Staff writer Electa Draper can be reached at 970-385-0917 or edraper@denverpost.com.
