Also in 1874 a preliminary survey of the township was made by Thomas Trip and a complete survey was made that same year by William Monroe and J. M. Hanks. As the streets came into being, they were given names of the prominent pioneers of the 70’s—Greene, Reese, Snowden, Blair, etc. The following year was a busy one. The first white child in Silverton was born to Mr. and Mrs. Ben Harwood. The child was named Frank, and lived here his entire life. Ben Harwood was quite a noted character in the early life of the San Juans. He was without a doubt a very strong and untiring man. It is an authenticated fact that for several winters he packed the mail on snowshoes from Watson’s Cabin, at the foot of Grassy Hill, to Howardsville and Silverton, at the same time carrying from fifty to sixty pounds of beef on his back for the Highland Mary Mine. [Illustration: Francis M. Snowden in Front of His Cabin—The First Cabin in Silverton] The La Plata Miner was the first newspaper, with John R. Curry of Iowa as editor and owner. Several years later the name was changed to the Silverton Miner, and since 1920 it has been called the Silverton Standard and the Miner. From 1874 it has never missed an issue. Still to be seen at the Standard office is the old 1830 Model Hoe original press which was used continually until a short time ago. A road, barely passable, from Watson’s Cabin at Grassy Hill to Howardsville and Silverton by way of Stony Pass was completed. The grade from the cabin to timberline on this side of the pass was fairly good, but just below the timberline was a short, steep pitch which often defied the brakes. Freighters would cut a fair sized spruce tree and tie it on behind their wagons as a holdback over this pitch. [Illustration: Silverton Standard Office, Taken in 1955, with D. & R. G. Conductor Myron Henry] When trees were no longer available, Squire (W. D.) Watson selected a solid stump at the top of the incline, and lowered the wagons by means of a snubbing rope. The price was $2.50 for about two-hundred feet, which made it pretty profitable. The summer travel was from five to twenty wagons daily. The freight rate at this time from Del Norte to Silverton was 30 dollars a ton, and remained so until the coming of the railroad. The first United States District Court was held in Silverton, with Judge Hallett presiding. It seems the same faces were appearing in the jury box, and the reason was the benches were so splintery they had to choose men who wore leather seats in their trousers.