Formed November 1, 1861 (13th county)
Park County (17,395), Fairplay (733)
A Modern style single story red brick and stone structure replaced the old courthouse in this small community. This courthouse was built in 1986 at 4th Street and Hathaway. Michael H. Collins is the designer. Colorado State Highway 9 past one block west of the building. The original courthouse for Park County was built in 1874 in Fairplay, the only county seat. The county is one of the original 17 counties created on November 1, 1861. It is the 13th county. Jefferson County provided a small piece of land to Park County. The county’s name was provided by trappers when they named the region South Park. The county seat was named by settlers believing in equal treatment for all. The South Platte River flows through the county. The center of the county is 31.8 miles Southeast of Fairplay nearer Hartsel.
Park County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, manager, coroner, and treasurer (executive). It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.) Five District Court Judges serve Park, Chaffee, Custer, and Fremont counties and a Trial Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Park County (judicial.) The county is in the exact center of the state southwest of Denver, Colorado and west of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The geographical center of Colorado is 30 miles northwest of Pikes Peak in the county. The county is surrounded clockwise by Clear Creek, Jefferson, Teller, Fremont, Chaffee, Lake, and Summit counties.
The area of the county is 2209.4 square miles. The county is 17 out of 64 in the state. It ranks 28 out of 64 in population in the state. It has a density of 7.9 persons per square mile making it 37 out of 64 in the state. Park County has 5.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 24 crosses east to west in the county, Teller County to Chaffee County. United States Highway 285 enters from the northeast, Jefferson County, and joins United States Highway 24 to exits into Chaffee County. The county shape is a small letter r facing backwards. Fairplay is located in the northwest quarter of the county. Fairplay is the county seat and the largest city. It is 4.2% of the county population. The county is in the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Alma
Fairplay
