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Mesa County, Colorado Genealogy

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Guide to Mesa County, Colorado ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

County Facts
County seat: Grand Junction
Organized: February 14, 1883
Parent County(s): Gunnison [1]
Neighboring Counties
Delta • Garfield • Grand (UT) • Montrose • Pitkin • San Juan (UT)
See County Maps
Courthouse
ColoradoMesaCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Colorado Mesa County.png

County Information

Description

Mesa County was created 14 Feb 1883[2] and was named for the many large mesas in the area, including the Grand Mesa, which is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. Its county seat is Grand Junction. It is located in the west central area of the state.[3]

County Courthouse

Mesa County Courthouse
125 North Spruce
PO Box 20,000-5030
Grand Junction, CO 81502
Phone: 970-257-3640
Mesa County Website

County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1883 County Clerk

Early birth and death records are stored in the courthouse.[4]


County Health Department

510 29 1/2 Road
Grand Junction, Colorado 81504
Website

County Health Department has birth, death and burial records; 1885 census taken[5]


Mesa County, Colorado Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[6]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1893 1883 1893 1883 1883 1883 1860
*Statewide registration for births in 1910 and deaths in 1910. General compliance by 1920.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[8]

Cities
Towns
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places
Ghost towns


History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Mesa, Colorado online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Colorado Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

In 1860, present-day Colorado was enumerated in the Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Utah Territories. Colorado Territory was created in 1861 and was enumerated as such in the 1870 Census. A state census was taken in 1885 for Colorado.[9] See links listed below.

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1890 4,260 —
1900 9,267 117.5%
1910 22,197 139.5%
1920 22,281 0.4%
1930 25,908 16.3%
1940 33,791 30.4%
1950 38,794 14.8%
1960 50,715 30.7%
1970 54,734 7.9%
1980 81,530 49.0%
1990 93,145 14.2%
2000 116,255 24.8%
2010 146,723 26.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State and Territory Census Records

Federal Census Records

The 1880 Census was the first Federal Census for Colorado after it became a state in 1876.[10] For links to Federal Census indexes, see Colorado Census.

  • 1860-1940 Colorado Census Records from 1860 to 1940 at FamilySearch.org — index & images

Church Records

Church records vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Colorado denominations, view the Colorado Church Records wiki page.

Online Church Records

Presbyterian Church

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • Fruita
  • Grand Junction


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

An Index of many Court related cases (marriage, divorce, judgements, liens, etc.) are accessible on the Mesa County, Colorado home page. Through their Online Services: Record --Recorded Documents page. This is not by all means an inclusive list and Mesa County reminds users, "The Mesa County Recorder Office presents the information on this web site as a service to the public. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, no person or entity, including Mesa County, the Clerk or her staff, shall have any responsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions in the data at this site or at other sites to which we link. Use of this site is an acknowledgement of this disclaimer. The official records of the County are located in the Office."

Non-county residents do not have access to all the functions of the website.

There is also a direct link to the search page .

Numerous records are available at Colorado Archives. To use this link scroll down the page to where it asks for Record Type. Click there and scroll down the list to the records you want and select. The next field asks for county. Select the county you want and then click on Search. You can narrow the search by adding the additional information it asks for.

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Mesa County Clerk and Recorder: Website

Contact Information

200 S. Spruce Street

Grand Junction, CO 81501

  • (970) 244-1800

Hours

  • 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
  • Monday - Friday
  • (Except holidaysLand and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Colorado Land and Property for additional information about early Colorado land grants.

After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse, where current records are also housed.


Online Land Indexes and Records

For more information see Colorado Land and Property

Local Histories

Online County Histories

  • Gateway/Unaweep Canyon at some point in time : a History of the Gateway and the Unaweep Canyon Areas. c2000. Compiled and edited by Jean Moores and James E. Massey. Decorah, Iowa : Anundsen. At various libraries (WorldCat).
  • Route 1 Mack, Colorado : a History of the Communities of Mack and New Liberty. c1997. By Homer C. Likes and Phyllis C. Maluy Likes. Orem, Utah : Likes Pub. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Garfield CountyGrand CountyMontrose CountyPitkin CountyDelta CountyGunnison CountyCO MESA.JPG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Online Collections

These collections are unique to Colorado. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Colorado Military Records.

All Veterans

Civil War

Subject to and Exempt from Military

Spanish-American War (1898)

World War I

World War II

Vietnam War

For further information see Colorado Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Records

Newspapers

For more information, see Colorado Newspapers.

Colorado Newspapers Online


Colorado Newspaper Catalogs

  • U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspapers

Obituaries

Obituaries printed in the Daily Sentinel can be found on the Mesa County Libraries website. Older obituaries have only the Name, Date published in the Sentinel.

Other Records

Work Programs

Licenses

Periodicals

Probate Records

Probate records have been kept by the county courts. Colorado probate records include bonds, affidavits, letters, claims, appraisals, fee accounts, minutes, judgments, dockets, calendars, case files, and wills. The FamilySearch Library does not have copies of probate records from Colorado.

You may obtain copies of documents from the clerk's office in the county courthouse.


Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records

Mesa County School records are held in the Loyd Files Research Library, located in the Museum of the West, 462 Ute (second floor, 5th and Ute) Grand Junction, CO 81501

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Colorado tax records complement land records and can be used as supplements to censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the records. To find tax records in the FamilySearch Catalog, do a Place Search for the county.


Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Vital Records Section Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

For some online statewide indexes, see the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections for Colorado.

Birth

Birth records may become public records when 100 years have elapsed after the date of birth. EXCEPTION: The birth record of any individual who is known to be currently alive will remain confidential even if they are 100 years of age or greater. [11]

Marriage

Online Records

Death

Death records may become public records when 75 years have elapsed after the date of death. [11]

Divorce

Online Records

Research Facilities

Archives

Colorado State Archives
1313 Sherman St., Room 1B-20
Denver, CO 80203
Request a Record
Telephone: 303-866-2358
Website

Contains online database Archives Search. See Colorado State Archives for a full list of online holdings
1880-1939 Divorce Index
1883-1900 Mine Accidents, Non - fatal
1897-1920 Horseshoers
1936-1942 Civilian Conservation Corps Enrollments
1966-1968 Vietnam Deaths

1883-1910 Mesa County Probate
1885-1887 Mesa County Persons Subject to Military
1887 Mesa County Persons Exempt from Military
1913-1917 Mesa County Motor Vehicle Licenses
1920-1934 Mesa County Inheritance Tax
1934-1942 Mesa County CCC Enrollments
1950-1970 Mesa County Divorce Cases

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Mesa County. For state-wide library facilities, see Colorado Archives and Libraries.

Mesa County Libraries
443 N 6th Street
Grand Junction, CO 81501
970-243-4442
Email: ask@mcpld.org
Website
Facebook

Museums

Museums of Western Colorado
462 Ute Ave
Grand Junction, CO
970-242-0971
Email: info@mowc.co
Website

Helping the Community Preserve Its Heritage and Tell Its Story
Thanks to the past support from our community, the Museums of Western Colorado (MWC) has become the largest multi-disciplinary museum complex between Salt Lake City and Denver. It includes three major museum facilities — Cross Orchards Historic Site, Dinosaur Journey Museum, and the Museum of the West; the Loyd Files Research Library; and four outdoor paleontology sites. We offer a multitude of programs and services including dinosaur expeditions and gift shops. Annually, over 100,000 people visit museum facilities and participate in our programs. The MWC is one of the most significant cultural institutions on the Western Slope and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mesa County.
Museum’s Birth
The MWC had its earliest roots in 1949 when a group known as the Memorial Museum Association purchased 24,000 adobe bricks and began construction of a building in the Intermountain Veteran’s Memorial Park. The building was never completed, but in 1953 the Memorial Museum Association reorganized as the Western Slope Museum Association, and the artifacts the group gathered would later constitute a major portion of the Museum’s present-day collections.
After these early efforts, the MWC finally got started when it incorporated as the Museum of Arts and Sciences in 1965. It opened its doors on May 1, 1966 in the former Whitman School at 248 South 4th Street. In 1968, it was renamed the Historical Museum and Institute of Western Colorado. The Museum began receiving operational funding from Mesa County in 1974 after voters overwhelmingly approved it by more than a 3-1 margin and the name was finally changed to the Museum of Western Colorado in 1977.
When the Museum was accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) in 1971, it was the 28th in the nation and the second in Colorado to qualify for this professional certification. Periodic re-evaluation by AAM is required to maintain the prestigious designation, and regularly scheduled evaluations in 1982 and 1996 determined that the museum continually met or exceeded the highest professional standards and expectations. In August 2009, we were awarded our 4th accreditation, which places us in the top 1% of museums in the country. The MWC is one of only 13 accredited museums in Colorado, of which only two are the Western Slope.
Cross Orchards Historic Site
MWC acquired Cross Orchard Historic Site in 1980 following a community-wide, fundraising campaign to save the last vestiges of the former Red Cross Land and Fruit Company from demolition. The 4.3 acre site was once part of a 243-acre fruit ranch that was operated as an agricultural showcase from 1896 to 1923. With more than 22,000 trees, Cross Orchards was one of the largest in the state when most local orchards averaged nine acres. Most of the fruit ranch was planted in apples, but a few acres of pears and peaches were also grown. Primary apple varieties of the day included Black Twig, Gano, Jonathan, Winesap, Rome Beauty, and Ben Davis.
The historic Cross Orchards barn and packing shed, located at 3073 F Road, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Ongoing restoration has returned the farm, now comprising 25-acres and several ancillary exhibits, to an early 20th century appearance. Costumed interpreters offer visitors an opportunity to step back in time and experience life in the Grand Valley in the early 1900s.
Also located at Cross Orchards is the largest collection of rolling stock for the historic Uintah Railroad that is known to exist. From 1902 to 1938, this rail line hauled Gilsonite from Dragon, Utah to Mack, Colorado where it was transferred to the Denver-Rio Grande Railroad. The cars and a caboose have been lovingly restored by the Rio Grande Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
Dinosaur Journey Museum
The MWC expanded again in 1985 when it opened Dinosaur Valley in downtown Grand Junction. When the Museum acquired the former Dinosaur Discovery Center in Fruita in 2000, it transferred its existing assets to the Fruita facility and re-christened it Dinosaur Journey Museum.
Dinosaur Journey today tells the story of the history of life in western Colorado and surrounding areas with real fossils, cast skeletons, and robotic reconstructions of dinosaurs. Among the exhibits are real bones of dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, and the largest Triceratops skull known to exist. There are also robotic reconstructions of Dilophosaurus, Utahraptor, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and a baby T-Rex. Accompanying all these are full-size cast skeletal mounts of Velociraptor, Camarasaurus, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Othneilia, Camptosaurus, and Mymoorapelta. Children of all ages can compare their size to that of the shoulder blade of a Supersaurus. On the other end of the size spectrum is the tiny Jurassic age Fruitadens, arguably the smallest known dinosaur. In addition, there are hands-on interactive displays, a working laboratory where dinosaur bones are prepared for display, a collections room where scientists study dinosaurs and other animals, a simulated earthquake ride, a dinosaur library reading area, a sandbox for making your own dinosaur tracks, and a “quarry site” where kids can uncover actual Jurassic dinosaur bones. More than a museum, Dinosaur Journey is an active research institution that contributes on a yearly basis to our knowledge of ancient North America.
Museum of the West
What was the main part MWC and was a regional history museum, moved from the Whitman school in 2000 to the renovated C.D. Smith Warehouse at 5th Street and Ute Avenue. Renamed the Museum of the West, it contains exhibits on Western Colorado within a regional perspective, a space for traveling exhibits, the Sterling T. Smith Observation Tower, and the Museum’s administrative offices. The Museum of the West now offers a thousand years of history that can be experienced. “Ride” in a stagecoach, “fly” a 1958 Cessna from Walker Field or gaze upon an ancient cup and ladle from the Ancestral Pueblo. Study Ute and Fremont rock art, see the real firearms that outlaws used, sit in a one-room schoolhouse and visit the Pastime saloon to experience western Americana at its best.
Also located at the Museum of the West is the Loyd Files Research Library. It offers life-long learners of all ages access to primary sources of information about the region’s cultural and natural history. The Loyd Files Research Library collects photographs, one-of-a-kind manuscripts, maps, city directories, high school annuals and rare books. We offer onsite access to the Mesa County Genealogy Society’s library of over 3,000 books, and materials collected by the Mesa County Historical Society and the Quahada Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society. In addition, the Loyd Files Research Library coordinates the Mesa County Oral History Project, one of the largest of its type in the state.
The MWC has also recently cooperated with the Colorado Canyon Association in the production a several videos including “Stories from the Land: McInnis Canyons” which won the American Association of State and Local History ASLH Award of Merit.
But wait, that is not all… The former home of the history museum, the Whitman Educational Center, has been renovated and remodeled into conference and classroom space.
Outdoor areas have become a major element of the Museum’s operation. The Museum signed a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to co-manage the Rabbit Valley Natural Area in 1985. The Trail Through Time, a 1.5 mile interpretive walking trail, opened a year later. The Museum purchased Riggs Hill, located in the Redlands, in 1986. Elmer S. Riggs of the Field Columbian Museum discovered a Brachiosaurus, for decades the world’s largest known dinosaur, at this site in 1900. Dinosaur Hill, located near Fruita, has been co-managed by the Museum and BLM since 1987. The Apatosaurus that Riggs found at this site in 1901 has been a popular exhibit in the Field Museum, Chicago, for many decades. The Museums of Western Colorado also co-manages the Fruita Paleontological Area with the BLM.
The Western Investigations Team (WIT) was formed in 2005 as a joint cooperative venture between Colorado Mesa University and the MWC. The goal of WIT is to use history, archaeology, and all forms of science to solve unanswered questions and mysteries in regional history. Among other projects, WIT’s Director David Bailey won an award for his work that proved the innocence of Alfred Packer, the famed “Colorado Cannibal,” and was been featured in a History Channel documentary, “Cannibals,” in 2005.

Societies

Listed below are societies in Mesa County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Colorado Societies.

Mesa County Genealogical Society
PO Box 1506
Grand Junction, Colorado 81502-1506
Email: president@mesacountygenealogy.org
Website

Mesa County Historical Society
Grand Junction, CO 81501
970-260-5226
Email:Priscilla.Mangnall@gmail.com

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  2. ↑ Colorado: Individual Chronologies, Colorado Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/documents/CO_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm
  3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mesa County, Colorado," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mesa_County,_Colorado&oldid=1225177195 (accessed June 10, 2024).
  4. ↑ The Red Book, American State, County, and Town Sources. Edited by Alice Eichholz. (Ancestry, Provo; 3d ed, 2004.) Colorado article by Birdie Monk Holzclaw and Marsha Hoffman Rising. page 93.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Mesa County, Colorado. Page 100 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Mesa County, Colorado. Page 100 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 93.
  7. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  8. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mesa County, Colorado," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_County%2C_Colorado, accessed 16 May 2017.
  9. ↑ William Thorndale and William Dollarhide, Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses (Bountiful, UT: American Genealogical Lending Library, 1985), page 51-54; Alice Eichholz, ‘’Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources,’’ 3rd ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 2004), 86. Free online version; FS Library Book 973 D27rb 2004; WorldCat entry.
  10. ↑ William Thorndale and William Dollarhide, Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses (Bountiful, UT: American Genealogical Lending Library, 1985), page 54.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Letter from Colorado State Registrar, Dated September 1, 2011. Policy Number 2011- 08. http://www.colorado.gov
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