San Miguel County, Colorado

San Miguel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,072. The county seat is Telluride. The county is named for the San Miguel River.

History
San Miguel County was given the Spanish language name for "Saint Michael" due to the nearby San Miguel River. On 27 February 1883, Ouray County was split to form San Miguel County. Originally the San Miguel County portion was to retain the name Ouray County with the new portion called Uncompahgre County.

Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area of Colorado formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters. The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan counties. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.

In 1875, the Smuggler gold vein was discovered near Telluride. The Smuggler-Union, Tomboy, and Liberty Bell mines combined produced over a hundred tons of gold by 1920, third in the state of Colorado.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (0.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties
 Montrose County - north
 Ouray County - east
 San Juan County - southeast
 Dolores County - south
 San Juan County, Utah - west

Major highways
  State Highway 62
  State Highway 141
  State Highway 145

National protected areas
Lizard Head Wilderness
Mount Sneffels Wilderness
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
Telluride National Historic District
Uncompahgre National Forest

Trails and byways
Great Parks Bicycle Route
San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway
Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway
Western Express Bicycle Route

Demographics

Politics
For most of the 20th century, San Miguel County was a national bellwether. It voted for the winner in every presidential election from 1912 to 1984. Since 1988, the county has become one of the most Democratic in Colorado and the nation, largely due to the presence of the Telluride Ski Resort and the influx of liberal-minded voters in the 1960s and 1970s. These trends have made San Miguel similar in vein to other heavily Democratic ski resort counties like Blaine County in Idaho, Teton County in Wyoming, and Pitkin County within Colorado. In the 2000 presidential election, San Miguel County was Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's best countywide performance in the country with 17.2% of the vote.

Communities

Towns
Mountain Village
Norwood
Ophir
Sawpit
Telluride

Census-designated place 

 Placerville

Unincorporated Communities
Ames
Egnar
Pandora
Sams
Slick Rock
Tomboy (ghost town)

See also

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

References

External links
San Miguel County Government website
Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck
Colorado Historical Society

 

 
Colorado counties
1883 establishments in Colorado
Populated places established in 1883