In 1960 Pete Smythe looked to the Golden area to turn his imaginary town of East Tincup into the real thing.  He formed the East Tincup Corporation and purchased the collection of recreated old western buildings used for the Colorado Gold Rush Centennial exhibit at the grounds of the state Capitol in 1959.  Looking in Golden's direction, he purchased a parcel of land on Highway 40 south of Highway 6, south of what was then the limits of the city of Golden.  Here Smythe rebuilt the buildings with the goal of re-creatin an authentic "Western Americana" theme tourist attraction.

Map of East Tincup, from park brochure, 1960

East Tincup opened on Memorial Day of 1960.  Instantly the area has its second historical theme park, coming right on the heels of the failure of Magic Mountain, which was within visual distance of East Tincup.  Smythe's idea was more successful; his village was fully complete by the time it opened and it drew crowds of people.  It did not remain unincorporated for long, as Golden annexed its location in 1961.  Unfortunately, a dispute with its landowner led Smythe to take down the buildings in 1963, and East Tincup reverted back to the realm of imagination forever.  However, its place remains as the East Tincup campground to this day.

East Tincup General Store - 1960

East Tincup Main Street - 1960
Looking east towards South Table Mountain

East Tincup Main Street - 1960
Looking west towards Dead Man's Gulch
Images courtesy Gardner Family Collection

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