The San Juan County Historical Society (SJCHS) was established in 1964 as a Non-profit 501(c)(3) Colorado Corporation for preserving the history of San Juan County, Colorado.

Our mining heritage has been the heart of San Juan County's development. Many service industries were instrumental in the success of the mining industry including the railroad for transportation of the ores, Otto Mears toll road system, the mining of precious metals (from numerous mines, the mills and smelters, boarding houses) and the support towns that followed the big strikes, which provided employment, supplies, housing, cultural opportunities, and entertainment.

The Town of Silverton, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Mayflower Mill have each been designated a National Historical Landmark. The Old Hundred Boarding House, owned by SJCHS, is on the Colorado list of Historic Places. Properties owned by the San Juan Historical Society include the Mayflower Mill, the Little Nation Mill (located at Howardsville), the Silverton Standard and the Miner newspaper, the Engine House (housing the famous 315 narrow gauge steam locomotive), and the Silverton Power Station.

The Historical Society operates the Mining Heritage Center, the 1902 County Jail Museum in Silverton, the Mayflower Mill Tour, the Allen Nossaman Memorial Archive, the Silverton Power Station and the Silverton Standard and the Miner Newspaper (designated a National Historic Site in Journalism).