Alma, CO

Alma is a Park County statutory town along State Highway 9 at the foot of Mount Bross, about 10,578 feet above sea level. The 2020 census counted 296 residents. Alma is often introduced as the highest incorporated town in North America, but the local map is grounded in ordinary places: the restored town hall, library, marshal's department, community center, the Stone Church, and the highway that connects the town with Fairplay and the rest of South Park. Park County's main offices and the Re-2 school campus are in Fairplay, so the two towns share a daily service route.

ATTRDavepark / CC BY-SA 3.0

Gold was first found in Buckskin Gulch, and hard-rock mines on Mounts Bross, Lincoln, and Democrat brought smelters and thousands of people to the Mosquito Range Mining District in the 1870s. Alma incorporated in 1873, taking its name from a grocery owner's daughter. After fire destroyed the original school in 1928, the replacement mission-style building became today's town hall, library, marshal's office, and community center. Mining history, Highway 9, and the preserved school building still meet in Alma's compact center.