Gunnison Colorado
The mountains surrounding Gunnison, Colorado create relaxing weather and provide lots of outdoor recreation. Within these mountains you’ll find a vast wilderness to explore! Of course the ranching heritage that has supported this area is still very much alive. Today, you’ll still see cowboys driving cattle and gathering hay. It’s this ranching lifestyle that provides the unpretentious charm that exists in Gunnison and the surrounding area. Western State College makes it’s home in the town of Gunnison, where the students can take a class and then climb a mountain to get hands on learning and further their education. The Environmental Studies Center and programs for learning resource management makes Western State “one big outdoor laboratory” for the students.
More Gunnison Colorado Town Facts
| Region: Southwest | County: Gunnison | |
| Latitude: 38.544398 | Longitude: -106.926908 | Elevation: 7,700 ft. (2346 m) |
It was the Tabeguache Ute indian tribe (also called Uncompahgre) that first called the Gunnison valley home. Eventually they were moved out of the area along with the Grand, Yampa, and Uintah tribes. The descendants of these tribes make up what is now called the Northern Ute tribe that lives in the Uintah-Ouray Reservation. As soon as the Indians had been moved out, the miners, ranchers and traders began to move in. By the 1870′s Gunnison was booming from the same mining rush that affected much of Colorado.
Gunnison Colorado was named after John W. Gunnison a United States Army officer who first explored the region looking for a route for the transcontinental railroad in 1853. The army officer was really only in the area for 3 days before going on to his assignment in Indian territory, but in 1874, a man named Sylvester Richardson got the settlement along the Gunnison River really going. He is regarded by locals to be the actual founder of Gunnison. In 1880, the new railroad proved to be a welcome sight for the miners, ranchers and those who had set up shops there to support what looked to be a major boom! It was, however, one of the quickest booms in Colorado history. By 1883 the majority of the mining operations had busted and over half the population had left. The town of Gunnison was far from finished though.
The ranchers that had settled in the area stayed. The lush valleys that surrounded Gunnison were not well suited to agriculture due to the harsh winter temperatures and only a 70-day growing season, but it was perfect cattle country. Many of the ranches established during the late 1800′s and early 1900′s still exist today. As you drive through the area you’ll appreciate the open fields of those modern day ranches.
