Colorado State Archives
What's New

We would like to acknowledge the incredible indexing work of Gerald Sherard and Connie and Jesse Ryan. These volunteers have been tireless for us and have added most significantly to our Historical Records Database. Our database, at over 1,000,000 entries, would not be what it is without them! Thank you so much!

These web pages have been added to our site or significantly modified to improve public access to Colorado's archival records:

November 18, 2010 - There are now more than 1,000,000 entries in our Historic Records Database with the addition of 23,438 El Paso County probate entries.

November 15, 2010 - We have posted Clear Creek County naturalization records
(1867-1906), Clear Creek County Old Age Pension records (1933-1935), Pueblo probates (1962-1965), Arapahoe County probates (1958-1959) as well as Conejos County probate records (1894-1918).

As of July 19,  2010 the Historical Records Database has 981,435 entries.

July 19, 2010 - We have added more than 17,000 Pueblo and Mesa County probate entries to the Historical Records Database.

July 16, 2010 - We have posted documents from the Governor's Office concerning the "Ludlow Massacre" which was a pivotal event in the history of labor and business relations. The coal miners in southern Colorado struck which resulted in escalating tensions in the area and finally the killing of five miners, one militia man, two women and eleven children.

June 10, 2010 - More than 84,500 entries were recorded into the Historical Records Database as Clear Creek County will records or governor appointments. All appointments made by the governor are recorded in the Executive Record. Up to 1945 most of these appointments were for notary publics. Notarial commissions became a Secretary of State function after that. Others include political and commissioner appointments. Political appointments are especially interesting and may concern the governor's personal staff, judges, representation on a committee, board or national conference. Examples include the Americanization Committee which organized as a result of the "Red Scare" in 1919; the Anti-Trust Convention that occurred during the Populist Governor Waite's administration from 1893-1895, the Relief Committee that existed during the Great Depression of the 1930's and even the State Board of Examiners of Horseshoeing during Governor Orman's term from 1901-1903. These appointments tend to illustrate the major issues of the day. Additional information about these topics can be done through research in the governor, legislative, agency and judicial collections.

January 12, 2010 - In the last few weeks we have also put various kinds of school records into the Historical Records Database. These include school census, teacher's pupil registers, teacher certificate documentation, teacher examination records and school board information. Plus, we have indexed an Arapahoe County Court Docket Book (1867-1869) which documents some of the earliest civil cases in the Denver area.

January 4, 2010 - In October of 2009 we entered 66,000 incorporation records from 1861-1914 into the Historical Records Database. These document businesses that officially incorporated with the state. Perhaps you are researching a business to see if your grandfather's stock is still good in a gold mine or perhaps to see who started the business, what the business' function was and what happened to it. We have added another dimension to this research with the digital scanning and indexing of business trademarks and brands up to 1900. We are continuing to add more of these records to our database. The trademark records can be interesting, beautiful and very artistic since branding a product was the main way to advertise in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They also reflect our state history by documenting lifestyles, agriculture, manufacturing, health, organizations and even political issues. The trademarks and brands are indexed by product name, name of the filer, and company name. You can read more about our business and incorporation holdings at our incorporation page and our trademark page.