Burros Loaded With Track Iron Ready To Leave Silverton
In 1913 work was started in earnest on the highway from Durango to Silverton. The first car went over this part of the highway in the fall of 1918. However, the road was not officially opened for travel until 1920. Bill Compton, Roy Roff, Fred Salfisberg, Bob Lockwood and one or two others from the power company made the trip, which was a hard one. They had to lay planks across the culverts, as there were open holes. They encountered many difficulties, but finally reached Silverton with the glory of being the first car over the road.
In 1916, the road up to the Cement Fill was being constructed. Previously, the road went up South Mineral to Chattanooga Creek then turned and went up a very steep pitch to the present highway near Johnson’s Park. Usually passengers had to walk up this pitch to make the load lighter for the teams and also to give a push now and then.
The Sunnyside Mill was in operation in 1917 at Eureka. At first it handled 500 tons of ore per day, and later more units were added and 1,000 tons were put through daily, the company built and furnished a number of houses in Eureka for their employees and families. When production was at its peak, around four hundred were employed. In 1919 a terrific fire destroyed most of the buildings at the mine, and only the tram terminal and transformer house remained usable. The company rebuilt at once and mining continued on a large scale until December 1921, when they ceased operation due to the drop in the metal market. They reopened in 1922 and operated continually until 1930 in spite of a flood that washed out the railroad with no train for thirty days. They closed again until 1937 when the property reopened and operated for about eighteen months.
Eureka, Colo.—Location of the Sunnyside Mill—Now a Ghost Town
In 1918 the “flu” epidemic struck the area, with great loss of life. San Juan County probably had a greater proportion of deaths than any section of the nation. The usual percentage was about ten percent afflicted with the disease, of which about one or two percent died. Silverton suffered a loss of nine percent of our entire population within three weeks. Graves could not be dug fast enough, and it became necessary to bury in trenches. One trench contained sixty-two bodies.
The highway from Silverton to Ouray was dedicated in 1924 as the Million Dollar Highway. The dedication took place on the first large turn below the Treasury Tunnel Mine, and in 1926 a Memorial was erected at Bear Creek Falls in honor of Otto Mears, Pioneer Roadbuilder.
On March 8, 1927 the first airplane flew over Silverton. This flight was arranged by Representative E. J. Holman of San Juan County and was supposedly a “Mercy Flight” to the stricken snow bound people of Silverton as the train had been blocked for thirty-three days at this time. Letters, newspapers, and antitoxin were dropped north of town near the sub station. Helen Fleming, who still resides here, received a letter on this plane and was offered $5.00 for the envelope stamp by a stamp collector in California. She refused to sell, but her Mother sold one she had received at that time.
Then on May 24, 1932 a Travel Air six-place monoplane made a three-point landing on the Million Dollar Highway at the foot of Greene Street. The pilot, Walter Piele, brought the plane from Durango, and it was the first to land here. The pilot later lost his license for making the landing.