Lake County

Lake County, Colorado

HELLO, I?am Betty Baker, your new Webmistress and County Coordinator for Lake County, Coorado - COGenWeb. I hope you enjoy your visit. Please feel free to email me if you have any suggestions or contributions you would like to make, (or if you find a link that is not working.) COGENWEB did move to a new server in Jan 2024, and switched our URL from .com to .org to give better and more consistant service.

Lake County History

Lake County was one of the original 17 counties created by the Colorado legislature on November 1, 1861. As originally defined, Lake County included a large portion of western Colorado to the south and west of its present boundaries. The county is named for the Twin Lakes in the area.

Lake County gradually lost territory over the following decades, losing land in its southeast to Saguache County in 1866 and Hinsdale County in 1874; in its southwest to La Plata County in 1874 and San Juan County in 1876, and in its west to Ouray and Gunnison counties in 1877.

Lake County's designated county seat changed multiple times within just a few years, residing successively in Oro City (from 1861), Lourette (from 1863), Dayton (from 1866), and Granite (from 1868).

By 1878, Lake County had been decreased to an area including only present-day Lake and Chaffee counties. On February 8, 1879, the Colorado legislature renamed Lake County Carbonate County, although this designation name only lasted for two days, until Chaffee County was split off from Carbonate's southern section on February 10 and the remaining northern portion was designated Lake County with its current county seat of Leadville.

Lake County Was Established in 1861

In 1878 the name "Leadville" became synonymous with one of the world's greatest silver-producing regions. During the 1880s, when Leadville's economy was at its peak, the town was the second largest in Colorado, a mecca for prospectors, gamblers, retailers, performing artists, and entrepreneurs. In many respects, its history epitomizes the volatile character of Colorado's mining industry?from the rush to establish businesses, schools, churches, and newspapers in a booming mining camp to the conflict and violence of the miner's strike of 1896.

Lake County is an original county dating back to the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861. The discovery of gold near what is currently Leadville led to a rush of people heading up the mountain. Gold wasn't the only metal to be found in the area.  Lead, silver, and iron were also found in large supply. During WWI, molybdenum mining took over the area. It was the United States' largest molybdenum mining operation.

Famous people of the area include HAW Tabor(Colorado's first multimillionaire), James Brown "Leadville Johnny" and his wife the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, and the Guggenheims (philanthropists and mining technologists).

Research Resources

Make sure you check the "Research Resources" section! There are  helpful links, look up volunteers and local researchers to help you out.

Our Military Section is being completely modifed and updated.

"The Chosen"

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This page was last updated Last Updated: 01/09/2025 03:20:28