San Miguel County, Colorado
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 9 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Telluride, Ophir, Naturita.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Colorado is not yet loaded on this site. Browse San Miguel titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP5 of 9 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
9 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor Mine | Naturita | 2023 |
| Burro Mine Complex | Egnar | 2025 |
| Fort Peabody | Telluride | 2005 |
| Lewis Mill | Telluride | 2009 |
| Rio Grande Southern Railroad Trout Lake Water Tank | Ophir | 2003 |
| Ruble-Orendorf Mercantile | Norwood | 2023 |
| Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Power Plant | Telluride | 1979 |
| Telluride Historic District NHL | Telluride | 1966 |
| Valley View Leasing and Mining Company Mill | Ophir | 2010 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBSan Miguel was formed in 1883 (1883-03-02) from unknown / original county.
SAN MIGUEL created by renaming OURAY.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusSan Miguel County population from 1890 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1890 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,909 | 5,379 | 5,281 | 3,664 | 2,693 | 2,944 | 3,192 | 6,594 | 8,072 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS3 cemeteries and 3 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 3 of 3 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Lone Tree Cemetery |
| Lone Tree Cemetery |
| Norwood Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 3 of 3
| Name |
|---|
| Alta |
| Leonard |
| Tomboy |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for San Miguel County, Colorado
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