Buckskin Joe was a Western-style

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

and railway in Buckskin Joe,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, United States, about west of

Cañon City A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

Description

The park was located south of U.S. Route 50 along the road to the Royal Gorge Bridge. Features of the park included gun fights, 30 authentic buildings from the Colorado 19th century frontier, themed entertainment, full service saloon and restaurant. There was also the Mystery House and a horse-drawn trolley ride. The town featured a donkey as the mayor. The mayor of Buckskin Joe resided in a small building and was allowed free range of the park. Buckskin Joe was built as a

film set A set is artificially constructed scenery used in theatre, film and TV. In the latter two cases there are many reasons to build or use a set instead of travelling to a real location, such as budget, time, the need to control the environment, or ...

in 1957 by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

director Malcolm F. Brown, by bringing together old buildings from around central Colorado, and assembling them into an old western-style town. The name was taken from the former mining town, now ghost town, of Buckskin Joe, west of

Fairplay FairPlay is a digital rights management (DRM) technology developed by Apple Inc. It is built into the MP4 multimedia file format as an encrypted AAC audio layer, and was used until April 2009 by the company to protect copyrighted works sold ...

, Colorado. The only building in the theme park from the original Buckskin Joe is the general store originally owned by Colorado pioneer

Horace Tabor Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

. In 1958 the owners began admitting tourists between filmings, and developed the location into a western theme park. The Town of Terror, a later addition, was voted the best Halloween haunted attraction in Colorado two years in a row. Every October the staff of Buckskin Joe would transform the mild mannered attraction into a haunted attraction, capitalizing on the town's real haunted history. The town was also featured on the History Channel's "Haunted Rockies Series" for its unexplained happenings. On September 2, 2010, owner Greg Tabuteau announced the sale of Buckskin Joe and its associated attraction the " Royal Gorge Scenic Railway", to an anonymous purchaser. The owner was later identified as Florida billionaire William Koch who plans to move the historic ghost town to his ranch near Gunnison. The final day of operation for the town was September 12, 2010.

Film location

The town was a western movie filming location with more than 21 films to its credit, including ''

Cat Ballou ''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and la ...

'', ''

The Cowboys ''The Cowboys'' is a 1972 American Western film starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern, and featuring Colleen Dewhurst and Slim Pickens. It was the feature film debut of Robert Carradine. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name ...

'' and ''The Sacketts''. The 1991

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

feature ''

Conagher ''Conagher'' is a 1991 American Western made-for-television film based on the 1969 Louis L'Amour novel of the same name co-produced and distributed by Turner Network Television. Plot The film opens with the Teale family moving west on a wago ...

'' starring

Sam Elliott Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Board of Review Award, and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Aw ...

Katharine Ross Katharine Juliet Ross (born January 29, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, one BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. A native of Los Angeles, Ross spent most of her ...

Ken Curtis Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earl ...

and

Barry Corbin Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series '' Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awar ...

was filmed at Buckskin Joe. ''Conagher'' was the last film in which Curtis appeared. The final movie to be filmed at Buckskin Joe was " Cactus Creek"; filming concluded just before the sale of the town was announced.Carie Canterbur
Lights, Camera, Action
The Daily Record (2010-8-18) canoncitydailyrecord.com

Partial list of films

* ''

'' (1965) Jane Fonda,

Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alt ...

* ''

True Grit True Grit may refer to: Fiction * ''True Grit'' (novel), a 1968 novel by Charles Portis ** ''True Grit'' (1969 film), a film adaptation by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne ** ''True Grit'' (2010 film), a film adaptation by the Coen Brothers, ...

'' (1969) John Wayne,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

Kim Darby Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby; July 8, 1947) is an American actress best known for her role as Mattie Ross in the film '' True Grit'' (1969). Early life and film career Darby was born Deborah Zerby in Los Angeles, the daughter of professional d ...

*'' Barquero'' (1970)

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, parti ...

Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...

Forrest Tucker Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided fund ...

* ''

'' (1972) John Wayne,

Roscoe Lee Browne Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American actor and director. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward' ...

, Bruce Dern,

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

* ''The Brothers O'Toole'' (1973)

John Astin John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles. He is best known for starring in '' The Addams Family'' (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising ...

* '' Mr. Majestyk'' (1974) Charles Bronson * ''The Dutchess and the Dirtwater Fox'' (1976) George Segal,

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

* ''The White Buffalo'' (1977) Charles Bronson,

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...

* '' How the West Was Won'' (1977 TV mini-series)

James Arness James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the CBS television series ''Gunsmoke''. Arness has the distinction of having played the ...

Eva Marie Saint Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...

* ''

Comes a Horseman ''Comes a Horseman'' is a 1978 American Western drama film starring Jane Fonda, James Caan, Jason Robards, and Richard Farnsworth, directed by Alan J. Pakula. Set in the American West of the 1940s but not a typical Western, it tells the stor ...

'' (1978)

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Suppo ...

, Jane Fonda,

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

* '' True Grit: A Further Adventure'' (1978 TV movie) Warren Oates * '' Silverado'' (1985) Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn,

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

, Danny Glover, John Cleese * ''

'' (1991)

. * ''

The Sacketts ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1991) two-part television movie,

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series '' Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations ...

* ''

Cannibal! The Musical ''Cannibal! The Musical'' (originally known as ''Alferd Packer: The Musical'') is a 1993 American black comedy musical film directed, written, produced, co-scored by and starring Trey Parker in his directorial debut while studying at the Univer ...

'' (1993)

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...

* ''

Lightning Jack ''Lightning Jack'' is a 1994 Western comedy film written by and starring Paul Hogan, as well as Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beverly D'Angelo. Plot Lightning Jack Kane, a long-sighted Australian outlaw in the American west, lives with his horse, Mate. ...

'' (1994)

Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appear ...

References

External links

{{authority control Defunct amusement parks in the United States Amusement parks in Colorado 1957 establishments in Colorado 2010 disestablishments in Colorado Buildings and structures in Fremont County, Colorado Amusement parks opened in 1957 Amusement parks closed in 2010 Western (genre) theme parks