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South Park National Heritage Area
1246 CR 16
PO Box 1373
Fairplay, CO 80440

719-836-4273

eduvic@parkco.us

Photos used in this tour were provided by the Park County Local History Archives.

Tour List Index

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#1 Old Park County Courthouse

#2 Fairplay School

#3 South Park Community Church

#4 The Manse

#5 Paul-Teter House

#6 Hall-O'Mailia House

#7 Old Fairplay Hospital

#8 Fairplay Drug Store

#9 Cohen's Store

#10 Prunes Memorial

#11 The Hand Hotel

#12 Senate Saloon and Odd Fellows Hall

#13 South Park City

#14 The Fairplay Hotel

#1 Old Park County Courthouse

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418 Main Street
Seven years after Fairplay became the county seat, local officials replaced a small log courthouse (now in South Park City Museum) with this impressive Italianate style structure constructed of native red sandstone. Along with the stone jail (northwest of the Courthouse), the building witnessed a parade of the famous, the notorious, and the ordinary, including Johnny Hoover who was hung by vigilantes from a second-story window in 1880. As a result of this incident, it has been referred to as the "hanging court" for well over 100 years. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it now houses county offices and a public library.

#2 Fairplay School

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639 Hathaway Street
Named for a beloved teacher and administrator who served for several decades, the Fairplay School is now known as Edith Teter Elementary and is among the oldest surviving schools in Colorado. The original 1880s section is constructed of native red sandstone in the Italianate style, a popular Victorian Era style characterized by prominent eaves, decorative roof brackets, and hooded windows. Additions in 1934, 1947, and 1986 reflect changes in architectural taste and local population growth over the years. Currently, the school is undergoing rehabilitation as part of an expansion plan that will provide additional classroom space for South Park students. Listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, the building is also a Park County Historic Landmark and serves as the administration building for the Park County RE-2 School District.

#3 South Park Community Church

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6th & Hathaway Streets
Built in 1874, this board and batten church is a well-preserved example of the Carpenter Gothic style with lancet windows, extensive wood trim, and an intricately detailed bell tower. One of many churches in the West established by Sheldon Jackson, this Fairplay landmark is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Born in New York and educated at Princeton, Jackson began his extensive missionary career in Wisconsin and Minnesota. His work soon led him to the Rocky Mountains and by 1869 Jackson had become the superintendent of all Presbyterian missions in the West. During his extensive travels, he established over 100 missions and churches and traveled close to a million miles. In 1877, he turned his attention to Alaska where he founded numerous schools and training centers. Sheldon Jackson's passion for the educational and spiritual growth of native Alaskans continued until his death in 1909.

#4 The Manse

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6th & Hathaway Streets
Constructed around 1920 to serve as the home of the Presbyterian minister of the South Park Community Church, "The Manse" is a fine example of the Rustic style architecture popular in Colorado during the 20s and 30s. The style grew out of an increasing interest in early pioneer buildings and the use of native materials. Constructed of logs, fieldstone, and cedar shingles, the home is in many ways a more refined version of the rustic miners' cabins built in Fairplay during the mid-1880s. The home has been significantly enlarged since it was first built with additions to the rear and west side of the home but still retains much of its original character.

Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.

#5 Paul-Teter House

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700 Castello Avenue
This prominently located home was built in 1873-4 for James Marshall Paul, a lawyer and mining operator who came to Colorado from Philadelphia in 1865. By 1867, he had settled in Fairplay with wife Laura and young son Charles. He practiced law in Fairplay, but also directed much energy to mining enterprises, most notably the Printer Boy Mine in Lake County. Paul served in the Territorial Legislature, as a trustee of the Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Agricultural College (now CSU), as a board member of the Wolfe Hall Episcopal girls school in Denver, and was appointed coordinator of the Colorado exhibits for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. In 1875, he sold the house to his father for $4,000.

Fifteen years later, the house was sold to local mining entrepreneur Stewart Van Deusen. Van Deusen left Michigan for Colorado in 1878 where he joined his younger brother Arthur and began working the mines around Fairplay. While manager of the Mudsill Mine, Van Deusen became embroiled in a drawn out and very public legal battle. He and partner Orville Watrous were accused of "salting" the Mudsill Mine with silver prior to selling controlling interest in the property to an English company for $110,000. In 1894, an appeals court ruled in Van Deusen's favor but that same year the family sold the home and moved to Denver.

The house is perhaps best remembered as the residence of local blacksmith George M. Teter and his wife Mary who moved into the home in 1898. Active in Republican politics, George served as a Fairplay trustee, county commissioner, and school board treasurer. He later opened the South Park Motor and Livery Company, converting his blacksmith shop into a garage. Wife Mary was active in the Ladies Aid Society, hosting events in the home. Their son, George W. Teter, married Edith Almgren, namesake of Edith Teter Elementary. George M. and Mary Teter lived on Castello Street as late as 1930. During the 40s, the home fell into disrepair and a number of decorative features were removed or badly deteriorated. In 1952, Willard and Erma Scroggs purchased the home and began extensive renovations of the residence, which has since regained much of its stately character.

Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.

#6 Hall-O'Mailia House

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600 Clark Street
Records indicate that this house was constructed in 1876 for the prominent Assyria Hall family. Lillian and Assyria "Cy" Hall came to Fairplay in 1868 where Assyria eventually established the highly successful Dolly Varden and Moose Mines on Mount Bross. Lillian Hall sold the house in 1899 to North Carolina native and blacksmith William S. Hudson and his wife Alma a few years after their marriage. Hudson worked in both Fairplay and Leavick, but eventually the family returned to North Carolina, keeping the house until 1917 when it was sold to Michael I. O'Mailia. O'Mailia came to Fairplay around the turn of the century and soon became active in local politics. Michael served as the county attorney, mayor of Fairplay, and headed the local Democratic Party. In 1906, O'Mailia married Mayme Remington who taught at many schools in Park County and served as County School Superintendent for some 40 years. Mayme remained in the house, even after her husband's death in 1928, but the house sat vacant for nearly a decade before it was purchased by B. Edward McNamara in 1963. McNamara became a prominent doctor in Fairplay and a new hospital was built in his name on Castello Street.

Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.

#7 Old Fairplay Hospital

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550 Castello Avenue
This building was constructed as a private residence in the late 1800s and continued in that use until 1929, when it became the Fairplay Hospital. Doctors were not always available in Fairplay, even in later years, so teenagers would work the night shift as nurse's aides and help patients until doctors could arrive. The large, windowed back porch of the hospital served as a nursing home for the elderly as well as those recovering from surgery. The building was condemned in 1965 and hospital operations relocated to the McNamara Hospital further down Castello in the following year. Prior to its closing, the hospital saw an average of 900 outpatients each year. After sitting vacant for many years, the building was heavily renovated in 1985 and today it is a private apartment building.

Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.

#8 Fairplay Drug Store

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Despite its sign claiming a construction date of 1874, this commercial building was actually built around 1900. The building is especially notable for its stylistic decorative elements, features not seen on the simpler, wood buildings that populate the commercial district along Front Street today. In its early days, this building featured a two-story porch and housed an office and barber shop on its lower floor. The building was later home to the Fairplay Drug Store for many years. The lower level porch has been enclosed and an addition constructed in the mid-1900s. Today the building serves as a private residence and commercial space.

#9 Cohen's Store

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530 Front Street
Records suggest that this building may be the only building in Fairplay originally constructed of adobe and that the facade of this building has been replaced with fired brick on at least two occasions. A native of Warsaw, Poland, Samuel Cohen walked to Fairplay from Pueblo, Colorado, in 1873 and soon opened general stores in Fairplay and Leavick. Cohen was a prominent member of the community, serving on the town council and school board as well as mayor of Fairplay and state representative. For several years, this building was Whiteman and Cohen's and later Cohen's Store (until 1911), both selling groceries and general merchandise. In 1879, the frame structure on the right was added to provide residential space and, in later years, additional commercial space that once housed Mrs. Briggs Gift Shop.

#10 Prunes Memorial

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One of two monuments in Fairplay commemorating the venerable burros that served miners in the Mosquito Range, this particular monument is dedicated to a burro named Prunes. Legend has it that Prunes worked most of the mines in the Mosquito Range and was so loyal to the miners that they could send him down the mountain for supplies by simply attaching a shopping list to his harness. Prunes was beloved by the people of Fairplay and after falling ill during a blizzard was nursed back to relative health by the townspeople. When Prunes died in 1930, this monument was erected to honor the burro and is still maintained by citizens of Fairplay. The importance of the burro is celebrated each year during the annual Burro Days burro race, which has been occurring since 1948.

#11 The Hand Hotel

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531 Front Street
Now the Hand Hotel Bed and Breakfast, this hostelry building built in 1931 by Jake and Jessie Hand has experienced many owners and renovations. The Hands also operated the Fairplay Hotel for a period of time and Jessie, better known as Grandma Hand, became well known throughout South Park for her arrowhead collection. Jessie Hand furnished the hotel with western and Indian artifacts, including her extensive arrowhead collection that is now on display at South Park City Museum. By the 1980s, the hotel had fallen into disrepair and sat boarded up and vacant until it was heavily remodeled in 1987 and took on a more rustic appearance. Today, its interior decor is modeled after western hotels of the 1890-1920 period.

#12 Senate Saloon & Odd Fellows Hall

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443 & 441 Front Street
These two brick buildings were among the first to be built after the disastrous fire of 1873 leveled much of the business district. The building on the left was A.E. Jones' Store and later housed the Senate Saloon for much of the early 1900s, before becoming the Park County Republican and Fairplay Flume newspaper office for many years. The building on the right served several purposes. Among the ground floor tenants were Hathaway's Bank and later the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America. The longest occupant of this building has been the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which has met upstairs for 125 years.

#13 South Park City

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100 4th Street
South Park City was assembled in the late 1950s when residents of South Park became concerned as historic buildings throughout the county were subjected to acts of vandalism and fire. This part of Front Street was purchased by the South Park Historical Foundation to protect seven buildings on their original sites. Numerous other structures from the late 1800s and early 1900s were then brought to the site in an effort to recreate the look and feel of an 1880s mining settlement. The Visitors Center is new construction modeled after the former Fairplay Hotel. Over the years, 28 buildings from various locations throughout the county have been moved to South Park City and over 40,000 artifacts donated to the museum to help tell the story of South Park.

Check out South Park City's mobile walking tour!

#14 The Fairplay Hotel

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500 Main Street
This site has served the hotels of Fairplay since 1873, beginning with the Valiton Hotel and later the Bergh House and Hotel Windsor. The Hotel Windsor was closed after a 1921 fire and the Fairplay Hotel, designed by prominent Denver architect William N. Bowman, was constructed in its place the following year. A 1923 advertisement for the new hotel boasted dining facilities, hot and cold running water, private bathrooms in some rooms, and steam heat. In addition to providing rooms for visitors to Fairplay, the hotel rented space to local businesses, including a dentist. In 1934, the sun porch on the northwest side of the hotel was converted to the Silverheels Lounge and its 1883 Brunswick mahogany bar was brought in from Rache's Place in Alma. Today, the hotel operates as the Fairplay-Valiton Hotel and houses the Middle Fork Restaurant and Silverheels Lounge.