Conifer is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Conifer is located along U.S. Route 285. It is the birthplace of South Park co-creator Trey Parker and child actress Amy Bruckner. The Conifer Post Office has the ZIP Code 80433.
Known in the 1860s as Bradford Junction, Conifer is familiar today to locals as the place where the "Yellow Barn" stands. Bradford Junction was a stop on the stagecoach road to South Park, and a well was dug there in 1864. The community started where Gill's Gulch flows into North Turkey Creek. A few buildings were erected, including a tavern, rest house, and general store. Bradford Junction deteriorated by the 1890s when the stagecoach road was replaced by the Denver and South Park railroad, which moved the center of development from the near Front Range to the frontiers of Colorado and the gold fields. By the 1920s the area was simply known as Conifer while Aspen Park and Marshdale grew as separate entities unto themselves.
In 1932 the oldest general store in the area burned down, to be replaced by a succession of shopping centers, punctuated by the current Safeway and shopping center. In its heyday, the area was primarily a cattle ranching area, and there is still some ranching in southern parts of the community. There are several areas of new development in the community, including a new Safeway center completed in late 2006 and a King Soopers center with a Qdoba, Wendy's, and a few other convenience stores, which was completed in 2005. Highway 73 from Evergreen underwent some upgrades in 2005, and included much needed turning lanes at Bradford Junction by the Yellow Barn, and straightening in front of the High School. North Turkey Creek was re-routed significantly after the construction. Students living within Jefferson County attend Jefferson County schools. Those neighborhood schools are Elk Creek Elementary School, West Jefferson Elementary School, West Jefferson Middle School and Conifer High School. Prior to 1996, high school students matriculated to Evergreen High School in neighboring Evergreen. Students living in Park County west of Conifer Junction attend Platte Canyon Schools. Those neighborhood schools are Deer Creek Elementary School, Fitzsimmons Middle School, and Platte Canyon High School. The high schools in Evergreen and Conifer are considered sports rivals. There are many families in the Conifer, Evergreen, Pine, and Bailey area that homeschool their children. There were approximately 200 homeschool families in 2006.
Here is some trivia to know about Conifer. Conifer is depicted in the South Park episodes "Grey Dawn" and "The Return of the Fellowship of the Rings to the Two Towers" as the home of the fictional Two Towers video store. South Park creator Trey Parker is from Conifer. The Aspen Park neighborhood of Conifer was home to the Coney Island hot dog stand from 1970 until 2006, when it was moved to Bailey, Colorado. A magnitude 3.1 tremor centered on Berrian Mountain about 1 mile north of Conifer occurred on November 1, 1981, at 8:03 p.m. MST. Conifer is home to one of two Safeway flagship stores (the other being in Boulder, Colorado). The Safeway was moved to a new building in late 2006 above highway 285.