Douglas County, Nevada Genealogy

Guide to Douglas County Nevada ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

United States Nevada  Douglas County

Historical Facts

 * Parent County: created 25 November 1861 as an original county *County seat: Minden
 * Neighboring Counties: Alpine County, California | El Dorado County, California | Lyon | Mono County, California | Placer County, California

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for emigrant settlers included:


 * California Trail 1844 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Carson (River) Trail 1848 (aka Mormon Emigrant Trail) crossed the Forty Mile Desert past the west side of the Carson Sink to pick up the Carson River near Fallon, Nevada up to Hope Valley and Red Lake. The Devil's Ladder then climbed 700 feet (210 m) in half a mile so ropes, chains, and pulleys were required to lift the wagons. Carson Pass was followed by the relatively easy West Pass (Kirkwood, California) and then on to Pollock Pines, Placerville, and Sutter's Fort, California
 * Johnson's Cutoff 1850-1851 (aka Placerville Route, Lake Tahoe Route and Day's Route) from Carson City, Nevada past the south end of Lake Tahoe going south and then west to Placerville, California and Sacramento
 * Daggett Pass 1850 (aka Georgetown Pack Trail) Carson Valley, Nevada to Johnson's Cutoff near South Lake Tahoe, California
 * Walker River-Sonora Road 1852-1854 from the Carson Trail south to the Walker River along the base of the Sierra Nevada until it ascends to Sonora Pass and then down to Strawberry and Sonora, California


 * Central Overland Trail 1859-1869 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Carson City, Nevada through central Nevada on a route south of the Humboldt River]

Newspapers

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a collection of digitized Reno newspapers going back to 1870. This database is sometimes free at libraries.

Courthouse
Douglas County Courthouse 1594 Esmeralda Ave Rm 105; Minden, NV 89423-0218 Phone: 775.782.9014 County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records.

Libraries

 * Douglas County Public Library 1470 Albite Rd Gardnerville, NV 89410 Telephone 775-266-2508
 * Douglas County Public Library 1625 Library Ln Minden, NV 89423 Telephone 775-782-9841

Societies

 * Carson Valley Historical Society Main St P. O. Box 165 Genoa, Nevada 89411 775-782-4235


 * Douglas County Historical Society Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center 1477 U. S. Highway 395 N, Suite B Gardnerville, Nevada 89410 Phone: (775) 782-2555 http://www.historicnevada.org/index.html

Marriage
Over 451 marriages from 11 Feb 1862 to 12 Jun 1919 are listed in the Western States Marriage Index.

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.