Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Lake County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
County government
- Clerk & Recorder Brochures, Tourist · 2013 archival inventory1955
- Clerk & Recorder Cash & Ledger Book · 2013 archival inventory1867-1870
- Clerk & Recorder Mining Claims · 2013 archival inventory1867-1878
- Clerk & Recorder Physician Certificates · 2013 archival inventory1881-1926
- Clerk & Recorder Populist Pty Bylaws, Minutes · 2013 archival inventory1894-1897
Marriages, births and deaths
Deeds and land
Tax records
- Clerk & Recorder Tax List · 2013 archival inventory1878
- Treasurer Assessment Rolls & Abstracts · 2013 archival inventory1879-1880; 1879-1882; 1882-1887; 1892-1900
Court records
- County Court Civil Docket · 2013 archival inventory1879-1880
- County Court Criminal and Civil Cases · 2013 archival inventory1879-1928
- County Court Register of Receipts & Expense · 2013 archival inventory1893-1903
- District Court Civil Cases · 2013 archival inventory1879-1951
- District Court Criminal and Civil Cases · 2013 archival inventory1881-1889; 1881-1903
- District Court Criminal Cases · 2013 archival inventory1879; 1880-1951
- District Court Criminal Judgment Docket · 2013 archival inventory1883-1887
- District Court Docket #701, Lake County War · 2013 archival inventory1874
- District Court Instruments and Documents · 2013 archival inventory1870-1878
- District Court Judges Calendar - Criminal · 2013 archival inventory1881-1893
- Justice Court Civil & Criminal Docket · 2013 archival inventory1879; 1879-1880; 1879-1881; 1879-1887; 1880-1881; 1881-1884
- Justice Court Civil Docket · 2013 archival inventory1878–1900 · separate segments; gaps possible
- Justice Court Criminal Cases · 2013 archival inventory1883-1884
- Justice Court Criminal Docket · 2013 archival inventory1880–1902 · separate segments; gaps possible
- Justice Court Fee Book · 2013 archival inventory1880-1881; 1880-1883; 1881-1893; 1882-1884
Wills and estates
- District Court Probate-Cases · 2013 archival inventory1882-1949; 1893-1920
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
- Lake County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk and recorder and the district court, and any online record search the county offers.
- 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, Lake" 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: Land not yet in any county
Later formed partly from Lake County: Chaffee County, Gunnison County, Hinsdale County, La Plata County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1861, 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.