Formed April 16, 1889 (55th county)
Montezuma County (25,846), Cortez (8,762)
A stucco and metal courthouse for Montezuma County. This 2018 facility is located on Park Street at Empire Street. United States Highway 160 is ½ mile south of the location. Humphries Poli Architects provided the designs for this Modern style courthouse. An addition was added to this facility in 1960 and a Justice Center was built recently. Montezuma County was formed on April 16, 1889 from La Plata County as the 55th county. Cortez has been the only county seat. The county’s name comes from the leader of the Aztecs of Mexico and Central America. In direct contrast, the county seat was named for Spanish explorer/conqueror Hernando Cortez. The center of the county is 4.9 miles East of Cortez.
Montezuma County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, manager, coroner, and treasurer (executive). It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.) Two District Court Judges serve Montezuma and Dolores counties and a Trial Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Montezuma County (judicial.) The county is in the southwest corner of the state on the borders with Utah and New Mexico (and technically Arizona). The four corners point is touched by this county. The county is surrounded clockwise by Dolores, San Juan, and La Plata counties and New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.
The area of the county is 2035.8 square miles. The county is 20 out of 64 in the state. It ranks 22 out of 64 in population in the state. It has a density of 12.7 persons per square mile making it 30 out of 64 in the state. Montezuma County has 42.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 160 crosses the county from east to southwest, La Plata County to New Mexico/Utah/Arizona. United States Highway 491 crosses north to south from Dolores County to New Mexico. Mesa Verde National Park is in the county as is many pueblos and historic sites. The county is a rectangle with a ragged eastern border that widens from south to north. Cortez is near the center of the county. Cortez is the county seat and the largest city. It is 33.9% of the county population. The county is pronounced MON-THE-ZUE-MAH. The county seat is pronounced KOR-TEZ.
Cortez
Dolores
Mancos
