Rio Virgin County, Utah Genealogy

Rio Virgin (or Rio Virgen) was a former county of Utah Territory from 1869 to 1872. It was created by Utah, but only a small bit of Rio Virgin county was actually in the territory. It mostly covered land outside of Utah in Nevada and Arizona, which also lay claim to the land.


 * 18 January 1867 - The US federal government transferred the northwest corner of Arizona Territory to Nevada. Nevada used the land to increase Lincoln County and Nye County. Arizona opposed loosing this land, twice petitioned Congress for repeal of the law. Utah also opposed this transfer of land
 * 18 February 1869 - Utah created Rio Virgin County. It was meant to serve the residents of Mesquite, St. Thomas, Bunkerville and other nearby towns which Utah wanted to keep within its influence. The US federal government surveyed the land, which showed Rio Virgin County was mostly in Nevada, with some in Pah-Ute County, Arizona and a small part in Utah.
 * 16 February 1872 - Utah discontinued Rio Virgin County, finally accepting the transfer after exhausting all legal remedies. The tiny bit of Rio Virgin County actually in Utah was restored to Washington County.

Records for Rio Virgin County, Utah Territory may be found in Washington County, Utah Some records may also be found in Mohave County, Arizona (holding records of discontinued Pah-Ute County, Arizona). Also check in Lincoln County, Nevada and Nye County, Nevada.

For records of Rio Virgin County see:


 * Utah State Archives may have a few records from the Utah Territory's Rio Virgin County courts and deeds.

See also Previous Jurisdictions to Land in Arizona showing dates the jurisdictions were created and maps. This will help in determining what jurisdiction your ancestor lived in and where the records are now located.