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Buckskin Joe
Main Street in Buckskin Joe
Buckskin Joe
Location Buckskin Joe, Colorado, United States
Opened 1957 (1957)
Closed 2010 (2010)

Buckskin Joe was a fun Western-style theme park and a railway in Fremont County, Colorado, in the United States. It was located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) west of Cañon City. This park was special because it was built using real old buildings from the 1800s. It felt like stepping back in time to the Wild West! Buckskin Joe was open from 1957 until 2010.

Exploring Buckskin Joe's Wild West Town

TaborStore-BuckskinJoeCO
Horace Tabor's store was brought from the ghost town of Buckskin Joe to its namesake theme park

The park was found about 1 kilometer (1 mile) south of U.S. Route 50. It was on the way to the famous Royal Gorge Bridge. When you visited, you could see exciting gunfights. There were also 30 real buildings from Colorado's past. These buildings showed what life was like in the 19th century.

The park offered lots of fun things to do. You could enjoy themed entertainment and visit a full-service saloon and restaurant. There was also a "Mystery House" to explore. A horse-drawn trolley ride took visitors around the town. A funny part of the town was its mayor: a donkey! This donkey lived in a small building and could roam freely around the park.

How Buckskin Joe Began

Buckskin Joe was first built in 1957. It was created as a film set by a director named Malcolm F. Brown from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He gathered old buildings from different parts of central Colorado. Then, he put them together to create an old Western-style town.

The park got its name from a former mining town. This town, also called Buckskin Joe, is now a ghost town located west of Fairplay, Colorado. Interestingly, only one building in the theme park came from the original ghost town. This was the general store, which used to belong to a famous Colorado pioneer named Horace Tabor.

In 1958, the owners started letting tourists visit the film set when movies weren't being filmed. Slowly, the location grew into a popular Western theme park.

The Town of Terror

Later on, a new attraction called the "Town of Terror" was added. This haunted attraction was voted the best Halloween haunted place in Colorado for two years in a row! Every October, the staff at Buckskin Joe would turn the town into a spooky experience. They even used the town's real stories of unexplained happenings. The town was also shown on the History Channel's "Haunted Rockies Series."

The Park's Closing and Move

On September 2, 2010, the owner, Greg Tabuteau, announced that Buckskin Joe was sold. The "Royal Gorge Scenic Railway" was also part of the sale. The buyer was later identified as William Koch, a billionaire from Florida. He planned to move the historic ghost town buildings to his ranch near Gunnison, Colorado. The very last day Buckskin Joe was open to the public was September 12, 2010.

Buckskin Joe: A Movie Star

Buckskin Joe was a very popular place for filming Western movies. More than 21 films were shot there! Some famous movies include Cat Ballou, The Cowboys, and The Sacketts. The 1991 television movie Conagher was also filmed at Buckskin Joe. It starred Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Ken Curtis, and Barry Corbin. Conagher was the last movie that Ken Curtis appeared in. The very last movie filmed at Buckskin Joe was "Cactus Creek". Filming finished just before the park's sale was announced.

Movies Filmed at Buckskin Joe

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