[3] The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer who surveyed for a transcontinental railroad in 1853.

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.

The D&RG was later reorganized as the D&RGW railroad and was a prominent line to Gunnison for about seventy years; it served as the primary means of transportation for the townspeople into the 1950s.

Realizing the poor conditions for farming (with only about eleven inches of rainfall annually and the short growing season due to the high elevation and alpine environment) the local farmers turned to ranching and began breeding cattle.

The eldest brother, John, built the irrigation system for their ranch and quickly began growing hay and other various grains.

When the railroad came through town, he convinced them to expand more and ended up paying for and building the rail that ran through his property.

Along with the hay, carloads of potatoes and other vegetables from the Gunnison area were being sent to Crested Butte to supply the miners with food and also to support their animals.

He helped build the Paragon School, which is still standing today in the Gunnison Pioneer Society museum on the east end of town.

Originally a shipbuilder and carpenter in New Jersey, he incorporated his skills in the building of the school which is why it is still standing today.

John was also praised by the local natives; when he first arrived in town he worked as a carpenter on the Los Pinos Indian reservation, and was considered the most trusted White man in the area.

Gunnison residents isolated themselves from the surrounding area during the Spanish Influenza epidemic for two months at the end of 1918.

Primary access to Gunnison is from Salida to the east via Monarch Pass or from Montrose, Colorado, to the west via Cerro Summit on U.S. Highway 50.

Due to its location in the Rocky Mountains, cold air in all the valleys settles into Gunnison at night, making it one of the coldest places in winter in the United States, especially when snowpack is present.

Gunnison is home to Western Colorado University which received its third renaming since its beginnings from an approval of Governor John Wright Hickenlooper on August 1, 2012.

The college was founded as The Colorado State Normal School for Children by a bill signed on April 16, 1901, by Governor James B. Orman.

Historical papers in the Leslie Savage Library on campus state that the school was the first liberal arts college on the Western Slope of Colorado.

Such program shall include, but not be limited to, communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, and science.

[18] There are also various radio stations that serve the area, including KWSB-FM (91.1), which is affiliated with Western Colorado University.

[20] The 1902 silent film short The Girls in the Overalls directed by Harry Buckwalter is set on the Vidal Ranch in Gunnison.

[24] The League of American Bicyclists has awarded Gunnison the silver level in bicycle friendliness.

The Gunnison Ranger District Office located at 216 North Colorado Street offers maps and information about details particular to vehicle access, private, BLM, federal and state properties, trails, and other areas of interest.

It continues to be a leader in PCRA rodeos in fund-raising for breast cancer with their Tough enough to wear pink campaign.