Editing Fairplay, Colorado (section)

==History==
A historic gold mining settlement, the town was founded in 1859 during the early days of the [[Pike's Peak Gold Rush]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Real South Park Colorado |url=https://www.colorado.com/articles/real-south-park-colorado |access-date=October 18, 2022 |website=Colorado.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Noel |first=Thomas |date=August 24, 2022 |title=Fairplay |url=https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fairplay |access-date=October 18, 2022 |website=coloradoencyclopedia.org |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name=fossett1880>{{cite book|title=Colorado, its gold and silver mines: farms and stock ranges, and health and pleasure resorts : tourist's guide to the Rocky Mountains|first=Frank|last=Fossett|publisher=C.G. Crawford, printer and stationer|year=1880|url=https://archive.org/details/coloradoitsgold00fossgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/coloradoitsgold00fossgoog/page/n139 123]|isbn=9780405049736}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n122 123]}}</ref> The town of Fairplay was incorporated in 1872.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.city-data.com/city/Fairplay-Colorado.html|title=Fairplay, Colorado
|publisher=City-Data.com|access-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Fairplay, Colorado - c. late 1800s.jpg|thumb|left|Front Street, late 1800s]]
[[File:Postcard of the town of Fairplay in the late 1800s - DPLA - a9a14d84171804fac9c2d6b2ed193adf.jpg|alt=Looking over the town of Fairplay in late 1800s.|left|thumb|Looking over the town of Fairplay in late 1800s.]]

It is the largest community in the grassland basin of Colorado known as [[South Park (Park County, Colorado)|South Park]], sitting on the west edge of the basin at the junction of [[U.S. Highway 285 (Colorado)|U.S. Highway 285]] and [[Colorado State Highway 9|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, Colorado|Alma]] and [[Hoosier Pass (Continental Divide)|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.