Durango, Colorado

The City of Durango is a home rule municipality in La Plata County in the state of Colorado, United States. It is also the county seat and the most populated municipality in the county. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 19,071. Fort Lewis College is located in Durango, Colorado.

The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG, later known as the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad) established the town between September 1880 and April 1881 as part of their efforts to reach Silverton, Colorado, and service the San Juan mining district, which was the goal of their "San Juan Extension" built from Alamosa, Colorado. Following a brief and most likely inconsequential negotiation with the other establishment in the area known as Animas City, two miles to the north, the D&RG chose a site in the Animas Valley close to the Animas River near what is now the Downtown Durango Historic Business District for its railroad facilities, which is now known as the Downtown Durango Historic Business District. It was named after Durango, Mexico, by former Colorado Governor Alexander C. Hunt, a colleague of D&RG President William Jackson Palmer. Hunt had a good opinion of the city after travelling there on Palmer's behalf and named the city after Durango, Mexico, as a consequence of his visit there.