The Durango smelter

The Durango Smelter was a mineral smelter located on Smelter Mountain near Durango, Colorado that operated from the 1880s until 1963. John Porter, a mining engineer, first came to Durango in 1875. Age 30 at the time, the Connecticut-born metallurgist and smelterman then moved on to Eureka, Nevada, later returning to Silverton to manage its smelter -- but instead, recommending it be moved to Durango. The Durango Smelter, opened in 1882, prospered under Porter's management; by 1887 it smelted over $1 million in silver, lead, gold and copper. After the company owning the smelter was reorganized in 1888, Porter eventually gave up his position as manager, although he retained a role as "executive adviser" for several years. On February 1, 1906, the Union Pacific Coal Company purchased the Porter Fuel Company properties and moved the main offices to Omaha, Nebraska.[1] Near the end, it was operated by the U. S. Vanadium Corporation and it produced a large amount of the uranium utilized in the Manhattan Project. The site sat dormant for several decades until it was torn down and cleaned up around 1987.[2] Today the site is a popular local hike.[3]

Strike

In the early 1900s workers at the site went on strike. The strike helped influence Colorado Labor Laws.[4] [5]

References
  1. "A brief history of The Porter Fuel Company from its antecedents to its demise". Center of Southwest Studies Fort Lewis, Colorado. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  2. "Smelter Mountain..." The Daily Sentinel. August 13, 1987.
  3. "Smelter Mountain Trail". Durango Outdoors. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. https://durangoherald.com/articles/37870?wallit_nosession=1
  5. Colorado Labor Wars


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