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By 1884, within three
years of the Durango's inception, nearly half of the 1,780 lots
originally laid out by the Founding Fathers of Durango (known as
The Trust) had been sold - for an average of $160 each. For the
next several years, the lot-buying trend for new homes shifted northward
to the Fassbinder Addition - out of the grasp of the Trust. Fassbinder
had homesteaded his acreage early on, his land bordering the Animas
River just East of Main Avenue at 14th. He was one of the earliest
providers of delivered water from his spring (the Fish Hatchery)
at 40 cents a barrel.
Within the next six years, the Trust purchased land for residential
development North of the Fassbinder Addition known as the Sunnyside
Addition. And later, it bought much of Robert Dwyer's 160 acre homestead
located where the Fairgrounds is now - this became the Brookside
Addition. At that time, these purchases, though farsighted, were
in relative no man's land, quite a distance between Animas City,
(32nd and Main) (the thriving small community that preceeded Durango
in the 1870's) --- and the hustling depot town of Durango, located
more than a mile South. In 1891, a fledging experiment called the
Durango City Suburban Street Railway came into being in the form
of a horse drawn street car operating along Main Avenue. Apparently,
its operators offended more patrons than they pleased. The horse
and trolley "blocked" Main Avenue and the operators were notorious
for being oblivious to their passengers' needs - regularly leaving
potential riders at the curb. Within a year, the Trust bought out
this early trolley experiment and named the new venture The Durango
Railway and Realty Company.
The founding fathers therefore had the clever foresight to provide
transportation from Durango to their "suburban" lots -- but simultaneously
they were the movers behind Durango upgrading its source of electricity.
Just as the trolley system was being electrified, a new power plant
was being built in Durango. Without this significant improvement,
there would have been inadequate power to run the streets lights
as well as the trolley during periods of peak demand. By late 1892,
this small trolley system with its big agenda, was one of the first
in the State to become electrified. Interestingly, the amount the
trolley company paid for electricity was not based on how much was
actually consumed but varied according to the receipts for the day's
ridership. Not that this was unfair; but it ratifies the intertwining
and powerful involvement that the men of the Trust, (William J.
Palmer, William Bell, John Porter and Thomas Graden) had with every
aspect of Durango's early development.
The new street cars came in two versions: 5 heated winter cars with
closed in glass windows and 3 summer cars which were open with awnings
over the windows. Each had the "latest nickel in the slot" apparatus
as the ride cost a nickel each way and each car could carry between
24 and 30 people. Initially, as a horse drawn trolley, the tracks
extended North from the Depot to where the Animas River crosses
Main. By July of 1892, the tracks had been extended some 8 blocks
to the Brookside Addition, approximately 24th and Main and where
Brookside Park was created. The trolley stopped every hour on the
hour at Fassbinder Park at 17th and Main. In this same vicinity,
the single track split into two tracks to facilitate the passing
of trolleys. Their storage barn was on the East side of Main Avenue,
between 14th and 15th.
While the company looked to making a profit as a transportation
system, its major purpose was to sell land - hopefully to a captive
audience of Durango newcomers. For this reason, it behooved the
company to wait 13 years before it extended the line to Animas City
at 32nd Avenue. Once this thoroughfare was in place, the trolley/land
company continued to market itself, creating reasons to visit these
lots for sale. At Brookside Park there used to be a movie machine
and a screen. People were enticed to go to the Brookside Addition
and watch a movie for free. Many would take a picnic lunch. There
used to be a sizable island in the Animas River at the east end
of 19th Street. In 1906, the Company invested $3,000 for building
summer houses, refreshment stands, boat houses and boats. A bandstand
was built on the island and on Sunday afternoons, couples would
ride the trolley and walk east to the river. The couples would row
out to the island and spend pleasurable Sunday afternoons there.
Unfortunately, the Company's goals of profit, either by land or
trolley, never materialized. Several times during the 29 year life
of the company, stockholders were requested to make a loan to the
company in the form of $5/per share owned. John Porter, long time
President of the company, paid the trolley's deficit each year out
of his own pocket.
In 1916, the Company was forced to sell the 40 acres, now known
as the Fairgrounds to the County Commissioners for $10,000. For
29 years then, Durango earned the distinction of having one of the
smallest street railway systems every to operate in the United States,
the Durango Railway and Realty Company. Like many systems, its final
demise was brought about by the automobile and the new freedom it
provided. For three decades, the trolley's existence along Main
Avenue in Durango was due more to the Company's tenacious belief
in the future than for profit. For most every year of its existence,
any ostensible claim that its operation was in the black was facilitated
by the generous personal contribution of John Porter. The last year
of its operation was no different - the Trolley posted a profit
in 1921 to the tune of 25 cents.
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