Listed record inventories
Selected records and local publications, with source links and the coverage described by each repository. Consult the access note for gaps, formats and research requirements.
Newspapers
- Daily Del Norte Inquirer (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1892-1???
- Del Norte Enquirer (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1892-189?
- Mineral County Miner and South Fork Tines (Creede (Mineral County), Colo.)Publication: 1975-1983
- Monte Vista Journal (Monte Vista, Colo.)Publication: 1925-Current
- Monte Vista Journal and Monte Vista Graphic-Reporter (Monte Vista, Colo.)Publication: 1921-1925
- Monte Vista Tribune (Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colo.)Publication: 1915-19??
- San Luis Valley Gazette (Henry, Rio Grande County, Colo.)Publication: 1884-1???
- San Luis Valley Graphic (Henry, Rio Grande County, Colo.)Publication: 1884-1900
- San Luis Valley Graphic (Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colo.)Publication: 1889-189?
- Summitville Nugget (Summitville, Colo.)Publication: 1883-????
- The Del Norte Prospector (Continuing the San Juan Prospector) (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1929-1932
- The Del Norte Prospector (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1932-1934
- The Del Norte Prospector (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1982-Current
- The Del Norte Prospector and Creede (Mineral County) Candle (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1972-1982
- The Del Norte Prospector With Which Is Combined the Creede Candle (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1934-1972
- The Little Presbyterian (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1883-1???
- The Monte Vista Journal (Monte Vista, Colo.)Publication: 1932-202?
- The Monte Vista Journal (Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colo.)Publication: 1888-1921
- The Monte Vista Journal With Which Is Consolidated the Monte Vista Tribune (Monte Vista, Colo.)Publication: 1932-19??
- The Monte Vista Reporter (Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colo.)Publication: 1899-1900
- The Monte Vista Reporter and the San Luis Valley Graphic (Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colo.)Publication: 1900-19??
- The San Juan Mining Reporter (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1877-1???
- The San Juan Prospector (Del Norte, Colo.)Publication: 1874-1929
- The South Fork Tines (South Fork, Colo.)Publication: 1981-Current
- The Valley Courier (Alamosa, Colo.)Publication: 1955-Current
- Valley Voice (Monte Vista, Colo.)Publication: 1991-Current
Open the source inventory or catalog
Repository access note: Selected newspaper titles whose Library of Congress catalog records explicitly name this county and state. Publication dates describe the title’s history, not surviving issues, library holdings or online images. Uncertain dates and open ends follow the catalog. Consult the linked title records for holding libraries and access; multiple formats of the same title/place/date are grouped. This is a selection from a focused county query, not an exhaustive newspaper census.
Source: Library of Congress, Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries.
Where to find the records
- Rio Grande 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, Rio Grande" 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: Conejos County, Costilla County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Conejos County, Costilla County
Later formed partly from Rio Grande County: Mineral County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1874, 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.