Thomas Walsh Residence in Animas Forks, as It Looks Today
The year 1881 saw the construction of the Martha Rose Smelter, the slag piles of which still remain at the southwestern edge of the town. A few years later this smelter was purchased by Thomas Walsh who had mined quite extensively in the Animas Forks section. The old Walsh residence still stands in Animas Forks. When Otto Mears built the Silverton Railroad from Silverton to Ironton Park, the smelter treated an average of over fifteen cars of crude ore a day. It was from this smelter that Mr. Walsh obtained the money to purchase the Camp Bird Mine. The production and sale of the Camp Bird brought him over ten million dollars. His daughter, Evelyn Walsh McLean, was once the owner of the famous Hope Diamond. “Cap” Stanley once refereed a prize fight held at the Walsh Smelter and entered the ring as the third man with a gun strapped around his waist. There was no doubt as to the superiority of one of the contestants, but evidently thinking of getting a return bout, which might make him another fifty to a hundred dollars, he made no effort to win. Cap, quickly discerning the trend of things, pulled his gun and ordered the men to fight. A quick knock-out was the result.
Blair Street as You Look Toward Sultan Mountain
The Denver & Rio Grande on “The Highline”
In its heyday, Blair Street reveled around the clock. No less than thirty-two establishments lined its two gay blocks and beckoned from the fringes of the side streets. The gambling houses carried such names as Mikado, National, Diamond, Sage Hen, and Bon Ton. Sporting houses were as easy to identify—Lola’s, Diamond Kate, Big Mollie, Diamond Tooth Lil’s, and so on. On this street a dozen dance halls employed over three hundred girls. There was night life for all, and plenty of participants, with ample reserve in the nearby hills. However there was very little trouble, as the people made their own laws and upheld them. An example was in December of 1882 when a bartender sold a drink to a minor. Instantly the town was up in arms. They gathered and destroyed his stock of liquor valued at $3,000.00.
The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at the Rockwood Cut