Gunnison’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Gunnison. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Gunnison’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gunnison’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewDillon's mob.Alternate Title: A g…, c. 1865: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Gunnison
See all 6 →
Gunnison, decade by decade
1990s
6 historic places in Gunnison
6 places in Gunnison are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Dillon's mob.Alternate Title: A group in front of Dillon's Theatre in Gunnison (c. 1865) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4) and the National Register (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.