La Plata County was cut off from San Juan County in 1876, and Silverton was incorporated. At that time the town was said to have around 500 voters. The first meeting of the council was held, and among the board members was F. M. Snowden. After the division of San Juan and La Plata counties, our county was still of considerable size and in January, 1877, Ouray, San Miguel, and a portion of Dolores counties were set off, leaving San Juan at its present size. In 1877, Otto Mears built a road from Animas Forks to Lake City. Most of the ore from Poughkeepsie Gulch, Mineral Point and Animas Forks was treated at Lake City. One of the oldest Masonic Lodges in the state is the San Juan Lodge No. 33, A. F. & A. M. which was organized in 1877. The organization has had a remarkable life, and is a strong factor in the community. [Illustration: Congregational Church, Built in 1881] The Congregational Church was organized in 1878. Although faced by many trials and tribulations, and at times by lack of money, the church has managed to survive. The present church building was constructed in 1881 and A. P. Roberts was the pastor from 1878 to 1882. This same year, Charles Fisher, who built the brewery at Howardsville, moved it to Silverton and ran it for many years in the old stone building on the bank of Mineral Creek at the lower end of the town. He built the Fisher Building on Greene Street which is the brick building occupied and owned for the past several years by the Maffey family (French Bakery). The building next to Maffey was the livery stables. The wagons and carriages were housed on the ground floor and the horses were taken up a ramp and stabled on the second floor. The first record of Lynch Law was in August 31 of this year. The following is a report from a newspaper: “About two o’clock in the morning of August 31, 1878 unknown parties entered the jail and took Henry Cleary, charged with the murder of James M. Brown, and hung him on the ox frame in the rear of the blacksmith shop on upper Greene Street.” Silverton had become a town of considerable population by 1879, and fire protection became a necessity. A “hook and ladder” was ordered from Denver, and with news of its arrival at Grassy Hill at the head of the Rio Grande, nearly half of the male population started for Grassy on horseback and on burros. The hook and ladder with all its equipment was hauled to Howardsville where it was met by another group who brought it into Silverton by hand. The Silverton Cornet Band led the group from Howardsville, and that evening a big celebration was held. At the old City Hall on Blair Street, next door to Swanson’s Market, you can still see part of the old fire fighting Hose Cart; also two cells of the old county jail remain there.