Loading map...

1956 Map of Fairplay East

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Fairplay East
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

The town of Fairplay and its industrial outskirts anchor this mid-century topographic record of Park County. Large-scale Tailings and Gravel Pits dominate the landscape south of the city boundary, reflecting the region's historical reliance on mineral extraction and earth-moving. Water management is a primary feature of the high-country terrain, with an intricate network of irrigation channels including Anderson Ditch No 1, Anderson Ditch No 2, and the Miller Chapman Ditch crisscrossing the flats near the Middle Fork South Platte River.

Rural life in the 1950s is evidenced by several family-named homesteads such as Coil Ranch, Temple Ranch, and Platte Ranch. The landscape is physically shaped by transportation history, most notably the Old Railroad Grade that winds through the valley floor. To the east, the steep ascent of Reinecker Ridge provides a sharp contrast to the developed river bottoms, while the Fairplay Cemetery sits as a quiet landmark at the edge of the municipal limits.