Howardsville

Howardsville is an unincorporated community in San Juan County, Colorado, tucked along the Animas River where Cunningham Creek meets it. Silver was the economic foundation that brought settlers here, and the community sits on the same road corridor as the ghost towns of Middleton and Eureka, placing it within a broader landscape of historic settlements.

About two miles from Silverton and roughly eight miles from the well-known ghost town of Animas Forks, Howardsville is reachable by passenger car, making it one of the more accessible stops along this historic route. Visitors exploring the area can take in the remnants of this former silver community without the need for a high-clearance vehicle or off-road capability.

As with many settlements of its era, little remains to define the townsite today, but the surrounding scenery and its position as a waypoint between Silverton and Animas Forks give it genuine context for anyone tracing the history of Colorado's silver-era communities.