The Stage Coach Inn is a magnificent, two-story structure made of hand-hewn timbers, many of which are 18 inches thick. It served as the halfway point for the stagecoach lines operating between Fairplay and Leadville during the late 1800s. It was moved to its present site from Mosquito Pass below timberline.
Museum founder Leon Snyder had seen this building many times on his trips to the mountains and knew it would be perfect for South Park City. The question was, could this enormous yet sturdy building resting in the snow banks on a pass 13,180 feet high be moved? Just the idea of moving this building intact seemed impossible, but Mr. Snyder, along with other volunteers from Fairplay and the surrounding area, got the job done.
The trail leading to the Inn was overgrown and strewn with rocks. It is difficult to visualize the many stagecoaches that traveled this route daily, covering a distance of 23 miles from Fairplay to Leadville.
Once the building was off its foundation and ready to be trucked down the mountainside, the trail had to be cleared. A bulldozer was used to widen the road and push the rocks aside. Marshy areas were filled in. Twice, the huge inn faced disaster by sliding off the flatbed as the truck snaked its way along precipices with drops of 1000 feet. Mr. C.W did the expert hauling. Howard of Colorado Springs with such skill that most of the original chinking between the logs was kept intact.
The Inn is furnished with authentic pioneer articles used in the remote mountain inns of that period. A long wooden table is set to feed the stagecoach passengers. The large cast iron cook stove in the corner and a cabinet with dishes and cooking utensils provide a homey feeling. Old trunks wait to be loaded on the stage. A steep, narrow, wooden staircase leads to the rooms upstairs. Renting a room in the Stage Coach Inn was expensive, but they were the only accommodations available. If travelers didn't want to spend the money for a room, they could pay a small fee to sleep on the floor downstairs next to the woodstove.
