The South Park Historical Foundation's Mission Statement:
Our mission is to research, restore, preserve, protect, and exhibit historic buildings, artifacts, and documents, in an effort to engage, educate, and inspire all who visit, of the rich history and heritage of Park County and the Mountain West.
In the center of Colorado, with an average elevation of 9,000 feet, lies a beautiful valley surrounded by majestic mountain ranges. The valley, lush with vegetation and supplied by water from the North, Middle, and South Forks of the South Platte River, supported vast herds of game and colonies of smaller animals, such as beaver, muskrat, otter, and bobcat. Amid this bounty, the Ute people, the oldest residents of Colorado, made their summer hunting camps. Before they began using horses, the Utes lived off the land. They established a vital relationship with the environment. They use well-established routes which brought them through South Park.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the French and Spanish explored what is now Colorado. They established outposts and began trading with Indigenous tribes. The Americanized name of South Park was derived from "parc," the French word for a game preserve.
In 1803, the United States acquired the vast wilderness of Colorado as a part of the Louisiana Purchase. President Thomas Jefferson dispatched Zebulon Pike in 1806 to explore the new territory. In an attempt to map the area, Pike's party penetrated South Park, but only marginally. Finding evidence, in the form of fresh campsites, that Spanish troops were still in the area, they elected to track the offenders and drifted farther and further south, only to be captured in the San Luis Valley and taken to Santa Fe.
Following Pike's release and return to the United States, reports of his explorations and the abundance of wild game drew the attention of hunters and trappers. Fur trading became the first economic endeavor of the period and was followed in the mid-19th century by cattle and sheep ranching development. The first ditch rights for agricultural purposes were recorded in 1861. By 1876, South Park was known as one of the principal hay-producing regions of the state.
In 1859, gold was discovered in Tarryall Creek, and the rush was on. Hoards of gold-seekers spilled into the Park. Mining camps sprang up in every gulch and gully. Soon, the hills were dotted with towns bearing such colorful names as Tarryall, Buckskin Joe, Eureka, Horseshoe, and Mudsill.
Latecomers to the Tarryall diggings found themselves locked out. Disgruntled, they referred to the places as "Grab-all" and moved to the junction of Beaver Creek and the South Platte. They called their camp Fair Play and vowed to offer the same in good measure to all comers. The camp prospered, but soon the lone prospectors' stakes gave way to larger and more stable placer and hard-rock mining operations, which flourished for the next thirty years. During this time, the trades and professions moved in to provide goods and services to the residents of South Park.
The creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861 placed Ute tribes into separate jurisdictions. These areas ignored family relationships. The Utes became increasingly dependent on the US government because of their restricted hunting space. From 1861 to 1887, treaties with the U.S. government drove the Utes out of South Park. This all but ended the traditional Ute way of life here.
When the gold rush era ended, most mining camps were abandoned to the ravages of time and weather. Only a few, such as Fairplay, Alma, and Como, survived with their more diversified economies. Later, hydraulic and dredge mining, and improved milling methods were introduced, and these communities prospered again. Down through the years, other minerals such as silver, lead, zinc, and concentrates were discovered and provided the impetus for subsequent mining booms.
Today, only a few working mines exist, but the importance of mining to South Park is evident all along the South Platte, from the tailings left by the dredges to the weekend prospector with his gold pan.
During the early part of the twentieth century, a rare breed of humanity slipped into the South Park scene unobtrusively. Leon H. Snyder, an attorney from Colorado Springs, would leave an indelible mark on the area. He was one of those people who had the foresight to see value in the relics of the past.
Snyder found respite from his work schedule for over forty years by fishing the Park's many streams. During that time, he became keenly aware that time, neglect, and vandalism were taking their toll on the remains of the mining era.
After discussing the dilemma with Everett Bair, the unofficial historian of South Park, he decided that the best way to preserve that history was to move representative period buildings to a single site where they'd have the benefit of police and fire protection. He contacted other individuals who were of like mind, and in 1957, the South Park Historical Foundation was organized. The site selected was on the outskirts of Fairplay. The area was steeped in history and was close to many abandoned camps. Land and buildings still standing there were purchased, and an inventory of other available buildings was made. Rights to the most appropriate of these were secured by donation or purchase.
In the summer of 1957, the move was on! A professional mover was hired, and a volunteer labor force laid foundations. By the end of that summer, six buildings had been moved to Fairplay. Together with the seven already on the site, they formed the beginnings of Colorado's newest mining town.
The summer of 1958 was a busy one. Additional buildings were moved in, and restoration work was in full swing. Various civic groups took on collecting artifacts and furnishing the buildings. The families of Park County embraced the project and scoured their attics, basements, and barns for appropriate artifacts. Roughly 40,000 items were donated.
In 1959, precisely 100 years from the first gold find, South Park City was opened to the public as an endorsed project of the Colorado "Rush to the Rockies" celebration. The reconstructed mining town turned back the clock to a lustier time for thousands of visitors.
Today 44 original buildings stand in tribute to that time and the men and women who lived it.
