Thriving Settlements
While gold drew migration to the west, early settlers discovered that opening businesses generated more success than mining and panning for gold. More settlements began to develop, each town differently from the other. Como developed with the arrival of the railroad, becoming a prosperous community for many decades.
Fairplay was established to give miners a sense of "fair-play" against other communities which they deemed corrupt.[1] Other communities followed suit in finding what made them enticing to visitors and new settlers.
The communities stayed strong for many years following the mining boom, and Park County became a bustling western community. Overtime, the communities of Guffey, Como, Horseshoe, Alma, Fairplay, and Jefferson would become incorporated towns.[2]