The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad constructed its San Juan Extension through the area in 1882.[6] About 1894 a lumberman, E.M. Biggs, bought 40 acres from a ranch owned by Francisco Lobato, and laid out the townsite, naming it for the sawmills which he built there. A post office was established in 1894,[7] which closed on January 28, 1995.[8] Biggs also built extensive logging railroads north and south, the last of which were removed by 1928 when the marketable timber had been exhausted.[6] The D&RG also closed and was removed in 1969.