Stage Coach Transport  

Stage coach travel through out South Park was enhanced with better and more elegant coaches as the intense migrations of the 1860’s and 1870’s developed intricate networks of routes.  Stage Line drivers were held to high standards of safety and honesty.  With over a dozen arrivals and departures a day from Fairplay stage line owners would compete to have the most comfortable and pleasant surrounding within their coaches. 

One of the most prospering stage line was that owned by Spottswood & McClellen.  They had many six horse coaches.  When their most elegant Concord coach that also carried the U.S. Mail and Express arrived in Fairplay, it was published in the paper that this beautiful coach’s name was “Perley”.  Perley Wasson was employed by Bob Spottswood driving the Platte route of Ben Holliday’s trans-continental stage line for eight years.  Perley then drove the Dakotas about three years before coming back to Colorado.  He was the South Park Line driver of renown.  As the Spottswood & McClellen Line christened the coach the “Perley” it was noted then “…He is without a doubt the most careful and fortunate driver in the west, having never met with a serious accident in all of his seventeen years of staging.  To know that Perley holds the reins is security enough for any of the thousands who, having ridden with him once, have occasion to go over the road again…” 

Accidents did, however, happen on the stage coach lines.  But it was not until April of 1879 that a first instance of highway robbery occurred.  It was recorded by the  Denver Times as follows and once again shows the immense concern and esteem for travel safety. 

“…an extraordinarily bold and successful attack, made one day last week upon a German freighter named Dingman.  Dingman was crossing the open and level South Park in open daylight, with other teams almost within speaking distance, when three men on horseback covered him with revolvers, and relieved him of $35 in cash and a silver watch and chain.  No steps were taken to arrest the robbers; it would have been useless.  We are very much mistaken if the coming few months does not witness the appearance of more than one band of these road agents.  They cannot be arrested.  There is but one way to deal with them.  Shoot them on sight.”