South Park is a valley surrounded on all sides by thirteen and fourteen thousand foot peaks. As you near Fairplay, majestic mountains have signs pointing to their peaks, naming them and their elevations. At 13,822 feet above sea level, Mount Silverheels is breathtaking. The 96th tallest peak in Colorado, the existence of the mountain isn't especially noteworthy, as it sits amongst a beautiful range of its peers; but the story behind the name is.

One of the early settlers in the area was a man named Joseph Higganbottom, called Buckskin Joe because of the hides he wore fashioned into clothing. Like most men, he was looking for gold in the 1800s. Legend goes that he was out hunting deer one day, and took a shot in the distance. He ran over to where he had shot, and didn't find the deer, but instead, found a vein of gold. The town of "Buckskin Joe" was born as hordes of gold seekers made their way to the area after hearing of his find. At it's peak, Buckskin Joe was alive with hotels, stores, a post office; a saloon, and was home to over 2,000 residents.

One of the residents, a bubbly, outgoing woman who was a "dance hall girl", entertained the overworked, broken down miners. She was well known for her charm and beauty and always wore a sparkling pair of dancing shoes when performing.

Though not a great or important lady, she was popular among the miners, and they began to call her "Silverheels".

Silverheels had a boyfriend named Bill, and when a smallpox epidemic ripped it's way through through the mining town, he was one of the first to die, in spite of Silverheels efforts to nurse him, and bring him back to health. As the miners contracted the infectious smallpox quickly, and in large numbers; it was apparent by their choosing to stay, that the fear of claim jumpers was of more importance to them than their lives.

After desperate, futile attempts to call for help from Denver, fatalities and fear were taking their toll on the mountain. Silverheels took it upon herself to attend to the miners and their families without thinking of the obvious danger to her life. She took food and necessities to cabins and shacks that housed the sick and dying. She sat by their sides when others were afraid of affliction, and held their hands as they took their last breath.

In time, the epidemic passed, and a group of miners collected $5,000 to present to Silverheels in gratitude for her selfless acts that kept the community bound together. Unable to find her, many guessed that she may have been disfigured terribly from her own bout of the illness and had gone into hiding. Never seen, nor heard from again, the mountain was named for her in remembrance for the genuine, heartfelt life she lived.

To this day, some people say that her silhouette can be seen at the graveyards where the dying were laid to rest; paying her respect to old friends with a black veil covering her scarred face.