Lake County is an original county dating back to the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861, Lake County, Colorado part of the USGenWeb Project

Lake County is an original county dating back to the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861. The discovery of gold near what is currently Leadville led to a rush of people heading up the mountain. Gold wasn't the only metal to be found in the area. Lead, silver, and iron were also found in large supply. During WWI, molybdenum mining took over the area. It was the United States' largest molybdenum mining operation.

Famous people of the area include HAW Tabor (Colorado's first multimillionaire), James Brown "Leadville Johnny" and his wife the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, and the Guggenheims (philanthropists and mining technologists).