Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Chaffee County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Tax records
County government
- Clerk and Recorder Estray Records · 2013 archival inventory1881-1891
- Clerk and Recorder Mining Claims · 2013 archival inventory1867-1878
- Clerk and Recorder Notary Public Journal · 2013 archival inventory1879-1890
- Clerk and Recorder Water Ledger · 2013 archival inventory1897-1899
- Treasurer General Fund Warr Register · 2013 archival inventory1947-1963
Court records
- County Court Civil & Criminal Cases · 2013 archival inventory1881-1955
- County Court Civil and Criminal Cases · 2013 archival inventory1879-1955
- County Court Old Age Pensions · 2013 archival inventory1933-1935
- District Court Bonds · 2013 archival inventory1882-1891
- District Court Civil Cases · 2013 archival inventory1882-1893; 1889-1939
- District Court Correspondence · 2013 archival inventory1898
- District Court Criminal Cases · 2013 archival inventory1885-1892
- District Court Ditch Records · 2013 archival inventory1881-1883
- District Court Domestic Relations · 2013 archival inventory1978-1981; 1981-1984
- District Court Instruments and Documents · 2013 archival inventory1880-1893
- District Court Mt Princeton Hotel Company Bonds · 2013 archival inventory1929
- Justice Court Civil Docket · 2013 archival inventory1920-1939
- Justice Court Criminal Docket · 2013 archival inventory1886-1947
- Justice Court Justice of the Peace Docket · 2013 archival inventory1895-1929
Naturalization records
- County Court Naturalizations-Declaration of Intent · 2013 archival inventory1881-1897
- County Court Naturalizations-Final Records · 2013 archival inventory1886-1903
- County Court Naturalizations-Record · 2013 archival inventory1886-1906
- District Court Naturalizations-Petitions · 2013 archival inventory1907-1929
- District Court Naturalizations-Records · 2013 archival inventory1886-1929
Wills and estates
- District Court Probate-Cases · 2013 archival inventory1870-1900; 1879-1950
- District Court Probate-Flat Files · 2013 archival inventory1946-1966
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected county and court series from the Colorado State Archives 2013 Finding Aids Quick Index. Only unambiguous dated rows marked Open in that historical index are included. That label does not certify current access. Confirm custody and restrictions with the Archives. Spans summarize separate storage units and may contain gaps.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Chaffee County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the county clerk and recorder and the district court.
- The county clerk and recorder
Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses.
- The district court
Probate (wills and estates) in every county but Denver, which has its own probate court, plus divorces and civil cases.
- The Colorado State Archives
In Denver: county and court records, territorial records and indexes.
- Colorado State Archivesfree
The state archives in Denver, with county, court and territorial records and indexes to many of them.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Colorado, Chaffee" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Lake County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Lake County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1879, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
A 1907 law set up statewide registration of births and deaths in Colorado; the state's own records begin with deaths in 1900 and births in 1910. Before 1861 the area was part of Kansas, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico territories, so an early settler's records can be in any of them.