South Park City facts for kids
Historic reenactors at the South Park City Museum, 2015
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| Established | 1959 |
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| Location | 100 4th Street Fairplay, Colorado |
| Type | Open air museum |
South Park City is a special kind of museum. It's an open-air museum located in Fairplay, Colorado. This museum shows what a mining town looked like long ago. It takes you back to the time of the Colorado Gold Rush and Colorado Silver Boom. These exciting times happened in the late 1850s through the 1880s.
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Exploring South Park City
South Park City has thirty-five real buildings. These buildings were moved from other places to create the museum. Inside, you'll find over 60,000 items from the past. These items show what life was like in a gold or silver mining town. You can see how people lived and worked in the late 1800s.
Historic Buildings to See
Two buildings at the museum are very special. They are the South Park Brewery and the Summer Saloon. These buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites.
Father Dyer's Chapel
One interesting building is "Father Dyer’s Chapel." It was once a hotel in a town called Montgomery. In 1868, it was moved to Fairplay. Workers then rebuilt it as a church. It is named after John Lewis Dyer. He was a traveling preacher who worked in the area. He preached from 1861 to 1877. Father Dyer is one of sixteen people honored at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
Visiting the Museum
The South Park City museum opened in 1959. It took two years to get everything ready. The South Park Historical Foundation helped create it. The museum is open every day. You can visit from mid-May until mid-October.
Living History Days
Every year, South Park City hosts "Living History Days." This event happens on the second weekend of August. During this time, volunteers dress up in old-fashioned clothes. They act like people from the 1800s. You can see them doing things that townspeople did back then. For example, they might show how people played card games like Faro. These demonstrations happen at Rache's Place Saloon in the park. It's a fun way to see history come alive!
National Recognition
The museum itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. This shows how important South Park City is for understanding Colorado's history.
