Historic Buildings in Fairplay

To those who live in areas with buildings from the 1700s and earlier, ones built in the 1870s don't seem all that historic. But to those of us here in the Colorado mountains, the schools, courthouses, homes and churches that date back that far are evidence of the enterprise of the first mining settlements in this part of the country.

The pictures here are of the old Park County Courthouse (now the library), the Edith Teter Elementary School (still in use for some classes), and the Presbyterian Church, all in Fairplay.

The Courthouse, with the small jail nearby, was built in 1874.



The Edith Teter School, built in 1880, has been added onto and has had the interior altered somewhat. It originally had two classrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs.



The South Park Community Church was founded in 1872 by famed Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson, with 8 original members. Two years later, in 1874, he returned to supervise the building of the chapel, which is still in use by a Presbyterian congregation. It is believed, though no documentation is known, that it was built from a "kit", probably from Sears, which was shipped out to Fairplay by rail.



At a later date, I'll publish pictures of other historic buildings still in use in South Park. In addition, many historic buildings have been moved from various sites around the area to the South Park City Museum, which I'll profile some time this spring or summer.