MOFFAT COUNTY, COLORADO

COLORADO GENWEB PROJECT

Welcome to the Moffat County, Colorado GenWeb Project. I'm Vikki Gray, your new County Coordinator for Moffat County. I recently took over this page from Shelley Booco-Barnes. Thanks for your hard work on this page, Shelley - you did a great job!   This site is for everyone researching their family ties in Moffat County. Feel free to offer suggestions and submit material for posting here. This site is yours and it is only as good as you make it!

In 1876, the territory of Colorado became a state. Less than a year later, Governor John Routt signed a bill creating Routt County. In 1883, the northwest area of Colorado was beginning to experience its foundation of community spirit. William H. Tucker was the founder of Craig, which became the seat for Moffat county. He first came to the area in the spring of 1889 looking for a town site. After his inspection of the Craig area, he knew that money could be made in the valley especially with such enticing prospects as a new railroad to be included in the deal. But financing was needed so he contacted the Reverend William Bayard Craig for the necessary financial help. Craig, hearing about the town site project in turn called Frank Russel and Jerry Hill. All three were enthusiastic about the project.

Together with Mr. Tucker, they organized the Craig Land and Mercantile Company and decided on the name of "Craig" after their chief financier. By November, 1907, the idea of incorporating the town of Craig was taking shape. A citizens meeting was called to consider the proposal. By Tuesday, April 21, 1908, and after much discussion pro and con, the town became incorporated.

In 1911, Senator Cary introduced the Senate Bill #34 providing for the creation of Moffat County, which was carved out of Routt county. The Bill passed and was approved by Governor John F. Shafroth on February 27, 1911.

Places to Start your Search

	American Legion 1941 list of Veteran Burials	courtesy of Shelley Booco-Barnes
	American Legion 1945 card file - Children of Veterans	courtesy of Shelley Booco-Barnes
	Bibliography	A suggested reading list
	Biographies	52 biographies extracted from Pioneer Men of Western Colorado 1905, courtesy of Shelley Booco-Barnes
	Cemeteries & Area Funeral Homes	A list of known cemeteries, plus partial transcriptions and obits.
	Cities, Towns and Places	a listing of places
	Early Settlers on Williams Fork	Published 1958 in Fifty Years of Progress, by Frances H. Dunstan. A nice history summary, courtesy of Harva Lou Buchanan
	GenConnect/Ancestry Boards	These have been updated and combined with the Ancestry boards. Post/View queries, bios, deeds, obits, etc. here. Learn to use these as they are a very valuable resource!
	Links	For further research
	Lookups and Volunteers	Won't you help the Moffat County site? See below for further details.
	Mailing List - Moffat County	A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties, Colorado. To subscribe click on the email link to the left and send an email with only the word "subscribe" to comoffat-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or comoffat-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode).
	Maps	Brand new
	Migration Patterns	Post your migrations here
	Naturalizations 1912-1941	courtesy of Shelley Booco-Barnes
	Obituaries and Gravestones	New! Courtesy of Phyllis Bingham. Thanks Phyllis!
	Photos - Moffat County	New! Submit your vintage Moffat County photos for posting. Please note that I can't post photos of unknown people due to time and storage constraints.
	Resources	Where to obtain vital records
	Surnames	See who else is researching your names
	Tidbits	Names and tidbits from old Moffat County Newspapers. Courtesy of Kathleen Anderson

! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED !

Lookup Volunteers - If you have Moffat County materials such as local history books - a lookup now and then would be immensely helpful. Or if you can do a quick lookup at the library from time to time.

Have you got old yearbooks or other documents that would be helpful for Moffat County researchers?

Index Volunteers - Are you willing to index the surnames of a local history? If you are - we will be glad to post them (and give you credit, of course).  

Should you have any problems, please email the

Moffat County Coordinator, Vikki Gray

This page was last modified: Sunday, 17-Dec-2006 13:02:49 MST  

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