Park County was 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 ...

of the extralegal

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

History

In July 1858, gold was discovered along 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 ...

in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. This discovery precipitated the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Many residents of the mining region felt disconnected from the remote territorial governments of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, so they voted to form their own Territory of Jefferson on October 24, 1859. On November 28, the General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson organized 12 counties: Arrappahoe County, Cheyenne County, El Paso County, Fountain County, Heele County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Mountain County, North County, Park County, Saratoga County, and St. Vrain's County. The legislation that created Park County declared:

That the territory comprised within the limits of what is known as the South Park, be erected into a county to be called Park county.

Park County was named for

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 ...

, and encompassed much of what is today

Park County, Colorado Park County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,390. The county seat and largest incorporated town is Fairplay, Colorado, Fairplay, while the unincorporated ...

. The settlements then existing in the county were the new mining camps of: Tarryall City, Jefferson,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Montgomery, and Buckskin Joe (Laurette). The Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction, but on February 28, 1861,

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

signed an act organizing the Territory of Colorado. On November 1, 1861, the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in ...

organized 17 counties, including Park County, for the new Colorado Territory.

Elections And Elected Officials

Park County's first office holding official was George W. Bowers, appointed by Governor Robert Williamson Steele in December 1859 as President Judge of Park County. He was to hold office until the county's first popular

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

was held on January 2, 1860.

References

External links

Colorado State Historical Society website
{{coord, 39.12, -105.71, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CO Jefferson Territory Geography of Colorado History of Colorado Park County, Colorado

History

Elections And Elected Officials

See also

References

External links