San Juan County
The Southwest Colorado Steering Committee welcomes
you to our 2010 Rural Philanthropy Days for Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores and San Juan Counties.
Surpassing the Country’s runner-up by over 2700 feet,
San Juan County boasts the highest mean elevation in the
United States: approximately 87% of its 387 square miles
of rugged mountain terrain soars over 10,000 feet above
sea level. San Juan County is home to the headwaters of
the Animas River, the last free-flowing river in
Colorado. It is also the smallest county in the State by
population – 1.4 person per square mile! Since 2000, the
population has been slowly yet steadily decreasing;
according to a 2009 State Demographers Office estimate,
San Juan County lost one person between 2008/09, from
567 to 566.
Located approximately 50 miles north of
Durango in the southwest quadrant of Colorado, the town
of Silverton is nestled in the large caldera known as
Baker’s Park. The “Million Dollar Highway” – a small
portion of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway – splits
the county east/west, and is considered the most
avalanche-prone stretch of highway in the continental
US. The northwest corner of the nearly half million acre
Weminuche Wilderness nudges up and comprises the south
east quadrant of the county; the Weminuche Wilderness is
the largest in the state, more than twice the size of
the Flat Top Wilderness, the runner up.
Demographics
According to the 2008 Census, the population of San
Juan County was approximately 87.3% white, 10.9%
Hispanic and 1.3% American Indian/Alaska Native, with
20.9% of the population having income below the poverty
level. This is more than twice the state average rate of
9.3%.
History
Silverton was officially established in 1874 and is
the only incorporated town in San Juan County. Once a
prospering mining town, Silverton was linked to Durango
by the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad, and later by the
“Million Dollar Highway” in July 1924. Beginning in the
late 1950’s, the rail line, which once carried ore to
Durango, began instead to carry tourists to enjoy the
spectacular scenery and heritage of the area. Since
1991, Silverton has been sustained primarily by its
seasonal tourism industry, with the scenic narrow gauge
serving as its anchor.
Economy
As the first decade of the new millennium draws
to a close, a refreshing and optimistic trend has begun
to emerge. Silverton’s focus on the “knowledge
industry”, innovative business practices, and recreation
has been propelling Silverton to new and different
heights. Organizations such as KSJC Silverton Community
Radio; the Silverton Public School Expeditionary
Learning Outward Bound; Silverton Family Learning
Center; Animas River Stakeholders Group; Silverton
Outdoor Learning and Recreation Center; Mountain Studies
Institute; the Silverton Avalanche School (the longest
continuously running avalanche education program in the
country), and the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies
have all found and/or created successful niches and
remain healthy, thriving and improving.
The Silverton Public School Expeditionary Learning
system has made unprecedented strides over the last
eight years, culminating in being awarded an $11.8M
grant – which includes a voter-approved $1.2M bond – to
revamp the facility. According to Kim White, Silverton
School principal, the school building will now follow in
the footsteps that the curriculum has since 2003, a
total overhaul. Since morphing to an expeditionary
model, the Silverton public school has risen from being
in the lowest 10% (District of Concern) in the State, to
being included in the top 10% (Accredited with
Distinction). The school heavily promotes community
service, preparing students for the workplace with
pre-graduate requirements via their “Services Learning”
program. All students must complete 80hrs of “real
world” workplace experience, whether in the
museum/historical society, restaurants, retail, or other
service sector. The school is also proud of their T-3
Philanthropy Club, which raises $500, which is then
supplemented by larger funders. The funds are then
awarded to local non-profit efforts; recipients have
included the pres-school, adaptive sports program at
Durango Mt Resort, A Theatre Group, and the Silverton
Standard and the Miner (the operation of which was
deeded to the Historical Society and is the oldest
continually running newspaper on the Western Slope).
Today, San Juan County is a mountain region in
transition from an economy based on mining to one
increasingly based upon tourism, recreation, innovative
business, cultural heritage and the arts, and
education. Not immune to the national economic forces,
Silverton and San Juan County have seen a decline in
various aspects of economic stability. Between 2007 and
2010, sales tax revenues have fallen 1.6% (FY2008) and
3.8% (FY2009), and requests for Medicaid in San Juan
County have doubled, as have requests for food stamp
assistance, while Cash Assistance cases (Colorado Works
Program) have risen threefold. Real estate sales and
building starts have slowed and remain sluggish, with
the County Assessor Judy Zimmerman stating that the
incidents of foreclosures have increased and probably
will continue to do so throughout 2010.
Historically over 200,000 summer
train visitors each year travel by train to Silverton,
supplemented by over 500,000 travelers (100,000 of whom
stay the night) who come to Silverton along the Highway
550 Scenic Skyway for rest, relaxation, shopping, and
recreation. However, train ridership has been declining
over the last five years, with 2009 being the lowest
since the Missionary Ridge fire in 2002.
In 2000, with the assistance of the Region 9 Economic
Development District, San Juan 2000 prepared a
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for
San Juan County. Since 2000, San Juan 2000 board, staff,
and the entire community have worked to implement it and
secure resources for economic development and
diversification projects built on community assets: the
citizens, mining, heritage, and high altitude setting.
But innovative business practices have been
flourishing. Silverton Mountain ski area has been
patiently operating and received quite an exposure boost
with the 2010 winter Olympics. Other new and progressive
small businesses include the Montana Distillery,
Mountain Boy Sledworks, Silverton Movement Center,
Silverton Brewery, Venture Snowboards, and the Gear
Exchange.
Healthcare Access
Neither Silverton nor San Juan County have any
advanced primary health care facilities. The Silverton
clinic is staffed once a week by a local physician and
his wife/nurse, providing general health care for the
community. In addition, the San Juan County Public
Health Service provides nursing health care in addition
to being active with the youth and public health related
campaigns. Mercy Medical Center-Durango staffs the
clinic at Durango Mountain Resort year round, and is
approximately 25 miles south of Silverton. The nearest
definitive care is in Durango at Mercy Medical Center
(Level 3 trauma) or Montrose Memorial Hospital (Level 4
trauma). San Juan County does maintain an EMS system at
the paramedic level providing 24hr emergency coverage.
Silverton prides itself on nurturing its youth and
providing safe and enriching alternatives to
drugs/alcohol/violence which can be prevalent in small
communities. In addition to the Silverton Youth Center
run by the Public Health Service, A Theatre Group
provides organized arts education in the summer months
via its Silverton Summer Youth Program. Both
organizations provide a safe youth environment that
encourage positive decision making, collaboration, and
lifelong creativity.
Nonprofits of San Juan County
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