Gunnison

History

The City of Gunnison got its name from the first known European-American explorer of the area, John W. Gunnison. He was searching for a route for the transcontinental railroad in 1853 and only stayed for three days before traveling west to Utah. Gunnison saw its first population increase in the 1870s, due to the mining surge throughout the state. The railroad arrived soon after in 1880 to appreciative miners, ranchers, and farmers. In the early 1800s, the groups moving into the Gunnison area were mainly fur trappers and mountain men, trying to make a living for themselves in the rocky mountain terrain. But a drop in fur prices in the 1840s essentially cut out the need for their jobs. The late 1850s saw the start of people joining the hunt for gold in Gunnison county. Miners were in search of placer gold, but with the growing numbers of white men in the area, this brought conflict between the Ute tribes still around the county. At least several miners were killed by these tribes and this caused some of the miners to flee the area, caring more for their lives than potential gold bonanzas. With the mining boom, Gunnison began to see an increase of people around the 1870s. Along with the miners coming in, ranchers and farmers were among the others that led to the Ute people becoming forced out of the area. The mining camps in Gunnison and around the county reportedly produced about 130,000 ounces of gold from the beginning of the gold rush through 1959. At the start this was mostly from placer deposits, but the largest amounts were from a by-product of silver-lead ore. The largest deposits were found along the Taylor River, as well as the Tincup and the Washington Gulch districts. Both lines ended up coming through town anyway, although the DSP&P shortly discontinued…

Geography

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of , all of it land. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Gunnison Elementary School
  Elementary · GUNNISON · 521 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Gunnison High School
  High · GUNNISON · 396 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Gunnison Middle School
  Middle · GUNNISON · 288 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Lake Preschool
  Other · GUNNISON · 73 students