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All the United States Colorado Fairplay South Park City

South Park City

This open-air reconstruction of an Old West town, a cross between a theme park and a museum, provides an immersive historical experience.

Fairplay, Colorado

Added By
slgwv
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Been Here
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South Park City.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
South Park City.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Street view out.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Street view with boardwalk.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The drugstore counter.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Gambling table.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Father Dyer Chapel.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Pulpit and organ in the church.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Church interior.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance to South Park City.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The Masonic lodge.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Household appliances, ca. 1890.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Pot-bellied stove in the parlor.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Stamp mill (ore-crushing device).   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Laundry room.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Assay furnace.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Child’s bedroom.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Seamstress’s shop.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Bedroom in the cabin.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Kitchen with table.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Cozy cabin.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Laundry.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Mail room.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Sluice box, for processing placer gravels.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Mine portal mockup.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Ore cart on track.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Wooden pipes.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Steam tractor.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Locomotive   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Locomotive and water tank.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Patent medicines.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Schoolhouse.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Schoolroom.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Carpenter shop.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Funeral parlor.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Woodworking shop.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The kitchen.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Desk and then-state-of-the-art manual typewriter.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The print shop.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Bar.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Blacksmith’s shop.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Monitor (nozzle for hydraulic mining).   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
No smoking!   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Carriage.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Set up for a family-style meal at the hotel.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
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About

Fairplay, Colorado started as a mining camp under the name of South Park City. In the 19th century, "park” was a common term in the Western United States for a wide valley, and Fairplay is located in South Park. (The animated sitcom is set in the same area.) Hence, this re-creation of a late 19th-century camp at the edge of modern Fairplay uses the original name. It consists of some 44 period buildings, seven of which are original. The rest were moved in from other old mining towns in the area. 

The buildings include mock-ups of businesses typical in a settlement like this, including a blacksmith shop, livery stable, hotel, dry goods store, drugstore, carpenter shop (which doubled as a funeral parlor), assay office, print shop, and so on. There are also living quarters, a church, a school, and even a mine and a locomotive. Contemporary equipment such as mining tools, carriages, and wagons are also extensively displayed.

Unpaved streets run between the buildings, some with authentic boardwalks, and you can wander around as much you wish. Sometimes exhibitions of 19th-century trades such as blacksmithing are also presented.

Related Tags

History & Culture Mining Replicas

Know Before You Go

South Park City is on the southwest side of modern Fairplay and is straightforward to find. Check the website for current hours and admission prices, as well as for information on current special events.

Community Contributors

Added By

slgwv

Published

July 21, 2023

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South Park City
100 4th St
Fairplay, Colorado, 80440
United States
39.22484, -106.003819
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