thumb|right|Twin Lakes – Department of the Interior. General Land Office. U.S. Geological and Geographic Survey of the Territories. (1874 – June 30, 1879)

Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,436. The county seat and the only municipality in the county is Leadville. The highest natural point in Colorado and the entire Rocky Mountains is the summit of Mount Elbert in Lake County at elevation.

History

Lake County was one of the original 17 counties created by the Colorado legislature on November 1, 1861. As originally defined, Lake County included a large portion of western Colorado to the south and west of its present boundaries. The county was named for Twin Lakes.

Placer gold was found at Colorado Gulch in 1863 as part of the Colorado Gold Rush.

Lake County slowly lost territory over the succeeding decades, losing land its southeast to Saguache County in 1866 and Hinsdale County in 1874; in its southwest to La Plata County in 1874 and San Juan County in 1876, and in its west to Ouray and Gunnison counties in 1877.

With its many reductions in size, Lake County's designated county seat also changed multiple times within just a few years, residing successively in Oro City (from 1861), Lourette (from 1863), Dayton (from 1866), and Granite (from 1868).

By 1878, Lake County had been reduced to an area including only present-day Lake and Chaffee counties. On February 8, 1879, the Colorado legislature renamed Lake County, Carbonate County. However, this designation name only lasted for two days, until Chaffee County was split off from Carbonate's southern section on February 10 and the remaining northern portion was redesignated Lake County with its current county seat of Leadville.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Colorado by area.

As the courthouse with the highest elevation in the United States, the Lake County courthouse in Leadville is the "highest court" in the land.

Adjacent counties

  • Eagle County – north
  • Summit County – northeast
  • Park County – east
  • Chaffee County – south
  • Pitkin County – west

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Highway 24
  • 20px State Highway 82
  • 20px State Highway 91

The 2013 horror video game Outlast is set in a fictional asylum in Lake County.

Demographics

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Lake County has leaned towards the Democratic Party for most of its history, voting for that party's presidential nominee in every election since 1988.

Communities

City

  • Leadville

Census-designated places

  • Leadville North
  • Twin Lakes

Unincorporated community

  • Climax

Ghost Town

  • Oro City

Historic sites

[[File:Stumptown winch House? CO.jpg|thumb|1890s(?) building in Stumptown, in the Leadville mining district.]]

  • Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin
  • Leadville National Historic District

Recreation

State protected area

  • Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area

National protected areas

  • San Isabel National Forest (part)
  • Buffalo Peaks Wilderness (part)
  • Collegiate Peaks Wilderness (part)
  • Holy Cross Wilderness (part)
  • Mount Massive Wilderness (part)
  • Leadville National Fish Hatchery (part)

Trails

  • American Discovery Trail
  • Colorado Trail
  • Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
  • Mineral Belt National Recreation Trail

Scenic byway

  • Top of the Rockies National Scenic Byway

See also

  • Bibliography of Colorado
  • Geography of Colorado
  • History of Colorado
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Colorado
  • Index of Colorado-related articles
  • List of Colorado-related lists
  • List of counties in Colorado
  • Outline of Colorado

References

  • State of Colorado
  • History Colorado
  • Lake County Government website
  • Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck
  • Lake County Visitor Center