Formed March 27, 1893 (56th county)
Mineral County (865), Creede (259)
A stucco building is the courthouse for this small county. The courthouse is on Main Street south of 11th Street. Colorado State Highway 149 is one mile south. The courthouse was built in 1950 replacing an 1895 building. Alfred Watts Grant provided the Classical Revival design of the courthouse. The courthouse was remodeled in 1987. Creede has been the only county seat. The county was created on March 27, 1893 from Lake County as the 56th county. The county’s name comes from the numerous mineral deposits in the area. Creede was named for Nicholas C. Creede, miner. The center of the county is 21 miles South of Creede.
Mineral County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, manager, coroner, and treasurer (executive). It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.) Four District Court Judges serve Mineral, Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande, and Saguache counties and a Trial Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Mineral County (judicial.) The county is in the southwest part of the state, northeast of Durango, Colorado. The Rio Grande flows through the county. The county is surrounded clockwise by Saguache, Rio Grande, Archuleta, and Hinsdale counties.
The area of the county is 878.2 square miles. The county is 46 out of 64 in the state. It ranks 62 out of 64 in population in the state. It has a density of 1.0 persons per square mile making it 60 out of 64 in the state. Mineral County has 29.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 160 crosses the southeast corner of the county coming from the east, Rio Grande County, and going west, Archuleta County. The county shape is a fat capital letter T. Creede is in the top quarter of the county and the only incorporated city in the county. Creede is the county seat and the largest city. It is 29.9% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced KREED.
Creede
