Park County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,390. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest incorporated town is Fairplay, while the unincorporated community of Bailey is the largest settlement overall. The county was named after the large geographic region known as

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

, which was named by early fur traders and trappers in the area. Park County is included in the

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

–

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

– Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. A majority of the county lies within the boundaries of the South Park National Heritage Area.

Geography

At the 2020 United States census, the county had a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water. The geographic center of the State of Colorado is located in Park County at coordinates . The headwaters of the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sou ...

are located in Park County at coordinates .

Adjacent counties

* Clear Creek County - north * Jefferson County - northeast * Teller County - east * Fremont County - southeast * Chaffee County - southwest * Lake County - west * Summit County - northwest

Major highways

U.S. Highway 24 * US 285

U.S. Highway 285 * Colorado 9

State Highway 9

National protected areas

* Buffalo Peaks Wilderness * Lost Creek Wilderness * Pike National Forest * San Isabel National Forest

State protected areas

* Eleven Mile State Park * Spinney Mountain State Park * Staunton State Park

Trails and byways

* American Discovery Trail * Colorado Trail * Continental Divide National Scenic Trail * Great Parks Bicycle Route * Guanella Pass Scenic Byway * TransAmerica Trail Bicycle Route

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, Park County was 87.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.1%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino, 1.4% Native American, 1.1%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.0% Asian, and 2.8% two or more races. There were 7,688 houses, and only 3.6% of the population is below the age of 5. According to the census of 2000, there were 14,523 people, 5,894 households, and 4,220 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,697 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.07% White, 0.50% Black or African American, 0.92% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.23% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. 4.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 5,894 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.10% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.40% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.86. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.50% under the age of 18, 5.10% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 30.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 107.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $51,899, and the median income for a family was $57,025. Males had a median income of $41,480 versus $27,807 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $25,019. About 3.40% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.60% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Park County is consistently Republican. It has not voted for the Democratic nominee for president since

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

in 1964.

Communities

Towns

* Alma * Fairplay

Census-designated place

* Guffey * Hartsel

Other unincorporated communities

* Bailey * Como * Grant * Jefferson * Lake George *

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

* Tarryall

Ghost towns

* Antero Junction * Buckskin Joe (Also known as Laurette or Lauret) * Garo * Tarryall * Trump

In popular culture

In the long-running animated television series ''

'', the eponymous fictional town is situated in an unspecified part of the county.

Notable people

*Gottlieb Fluhmann (Gottlieb Fluhmann disappeared in 1892 and his remains were found in a secluded cave in Park County in 1944. The cause of his death remains unknown). * Samuel Hartsel *John J. Hoover * Sheldon Jackson

References

External links

Park County Government website
*
South Park National Heritage AreaColorado Historical SocietyGeologic Map of the Harvard Lakes 7.5ʹ Quadrangle, Park and Chaffee Counties, Colorado

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

* Gerald Fogarty Galloway Collection of Records Concerning Mines and Real Property in Park County, Colorado. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Colorado Election Results 2020
{{coord, 39.12, -105.71, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CO_source:UScensus1990 1861 establishments in Colorado Territory Colorado counties Populated places established in 1861