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Fairplay, Colorado
County seat and statutory town
View of Fairplay and South Park looking south from State Highway 9. The historic buildings of South Park City, an open-air museum, are in the foreground.
Nicknames: The Real South Park South Park City
Motto: "Where History Meets the High Country"
Location of the Town of Fairplay in Park County, Colorado.
FairplayLocation of the Town of Fairplay in the United States.
Coordinates: 39°13′28″N 105°59′53″W / 39.22444°N 105.99806°W / 39.22444; -105.99806
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Park
Settled	1859
Incorporated	November 15, 1872
Government
• Type	Statutory town
• Mayor	Frank Just
Area
• Total	1.156 sq mi (2.995 km)
• Land	1.147 sq mi (2.971 km)
• Water	0.009 sq mi (0.024 km)
Elevation	9,948 ft (3,032 m)
Population
• Total	724
• Density	631/sq mi (244/km)
• Metro	2,963,821 (19th)
• CSA	3,623,560 (17th)
• Front Range	5,055,344
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP code	80440 & 80456, 80432 (PO Box)
Area code	719
FIPS code	08-25610
GNIS feature ID	2412616
Website	fairplayco.us

Fairplay is a statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Park County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 724 at the 2020 United States Census. Fairplay is located in South Park at an elevation of 9,953 feet (3,034 m). The town is the fifth-highest incorporated place in the State of Colorado. Fairplay is a part of the Front Range Urban Corridor.

History

A historic gold mining settlement, the town was founded in 1859 during the early days of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. The town was named by settlers who were upset by the generous mining claims given to the earliest prospectors and promised a more equitable system for its residents. The town of Fairplay was incorporated in 1872.

It is the largest community in the grassland basin of Colorado known as South Park, sitting on the west edge of the basin at the junction of U.S. Highway 285 and State Highway 9. It is on a hillside just east of the Middle Fork South Platte River, near where Highway 9 ascends the river valley northward to Alma and Hoosier Pass. It is a quiet town, and the roads surrounding it have a low volume of traffic. Although it was founded during the initial placer mining boom, the mines in the area continued to produce gold and silver ore for many decades up through the middle of the 20th century.

The town consists of modern retail businesses along the highway, as well as a historic town on the bluff above the river along Front Street. The northern extension of Front Street along the river has been preserved and has become the site of relocated historic structures as an open-air museum called South Park City, intended to recreate the early days of the Colorado Gold Rush. Most of the residences in town are located on the hillside west of US Highway 285 and east of State Highway 9, in the vicinity of the schools and Park County Courthouse. The majority of the streets in town were finally paved in 2005.

Geography

As of the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 740 acres (2.995 km) including 5.9 acres (0.024 km) of water.

Climate

Fairplay has a subarctic or subalpine climate (Koppen: Dfc) given its elevation, with short cool summers, and long, windy and cold winters. Temperature ranges between day and night are large, due to the high elevation, low cloud cover, and dryness of the air.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 610 people, 259 households, and 169 families residing in the town. The population density was 576 inhabitants per square mile (222/km). There were 337 housing units at an average density of 318 per square mile (123/km). The racial makeup of the town was 93% White, 1.3% African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 2.8% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.9% of the population.

There were 259 households, out of which 32% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51% were married couples living together, 8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34% were non-families. 26% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.8.

Approximately 24% of the town under the age of 18, 8% from 18 to 24, 37% from 25 to 44, 25% from 45 to 64, and 5% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 110 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $50,385, and the median income for a family was $51,980. Males had a median income of $34,290 versus $26,430 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,740. About 6.6% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Burro Days

The Burro Days festival is held on the last weekend of July. The event celebrates the town's mining heritage. The main feature of the festival is a 29-mile (46.7 km) burro race over rough terrain and approximately 3,000-ft (914 m) elevation gain from downtown Fairplay to the 13,185-ft (4019 m) summit of Mosquito Pass. Teams consist of one person and one burro. The race takes about five hours to complete; first prize is $1,000. Previously, the first prize included an ounce of gold. There are several other burro races in Colorado; the most notable takes place in Leadville.

The Fairplay event is the World Championship of Burro Racing, an ultra-marathon and the longest burro race in the state. For many years (in the 1960s and early 1970s) the Burro race took place from Leadville to Fairplay, or vice versa, crossing over Mosquito Pass. This followed the route that Father John Lewis Dyer of the Methodist Episcopal Church used for circuit riding and for carrying mail. With time, the rivalry between the two cities ended this cooperative endeavor.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Fairplay is part of Colorado's Bustang intercity bus network. It is on the Gunnison-Denver Outrider line.

Notable people

• Sheldon Jackson, Presbyterian missionary who established what is now the South Park Community Presbyterian Church in Fairplay

See also

• List of municipalities in Colorado

References

1. ^ "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
2. "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
3. "Mayor and Board of Trustees". Town of Fairplay, Colorado. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
4. ^ "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fairplay, Colorado
6. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on November 4, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
7. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
8. "Colorado Highways: Elevation-Related Trivia Items". Matthew E. Salek. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
9. "The Real South Park Colorado". Colorado.com. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
10. Noel, Thomas (August 24, 2022). "Fairplay". coloradoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
11. Fossett, Frank (1880). Colorado, its gold and silver mines: farms and stock ranges, and health and pleasure resorts : tourist's guide to the Rocky Mountains. C.G. Crawford, printer and stationer. p. 123. ISBN 9780405049736.
12. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 123.
13. "Fairplay, Colorado". City-Data.com. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
14. "Fairplay S Park RD, Colorado 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved November 4, 2023.
15. "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
16. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
17. "Burro Days". Archived from the original on July 7, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
18. "Western Pack Burro Ass-ociation". Retrieved June 2, 2011.
19. "Bustang Schedule". RideBustang. CDOT.

External links

• Official website
• CDOT map of the Town of Fairplay
• South Park Chamber of Commerce

v t e Municipalities and communities of Park County, Colorado, United States
County seat: Fairplay
Towns	Alma Fairplay
CDPs	Guffey Hartsel
Unincorporated communities	Bailey Como Grant Jefferson Lake George Shawnee Tarryall
Ghost towns	Alma Junction Antero Junction Buckskin Joe Garo Tarryall Trump
Colorado portal United States portal

• Towns in Park County, Colorado
• Towns in Colorado
• County seats in Colorado