Park County has more than its share of exciting outlaw and murder stories, but few people know about them, other than the two enduring legends of John Hoover and Benjamin Ratcliff. Their stories are true! Hoover was literally hung out the County courthouse window in Fairplay in 1880 after the townspeople didn't like the light sentence he received for a manslaughter conviction. Benjamin Ratcliff was executed by the State of Colorado in 1896 for killing three school board members during a meeting on the Tarryall River area. But what about John Doolittle? Obe Fyffe? And those Draughans! Jay Draughan was a Kentucky outlaw, on the run from his home state and using an aka when he murdered his uncle up Geneva Creek.
I hope this blog will engage you in learning about the little-known history of the county and about the current happenings as well. Read on!
