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Gunnison County is located in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. It was named after Captain John W. Gunnison, who explored the area with a party of 60 men in 1853. The County boasts of some unusual town names such as Bacon, Citizen, Dinner Station, Old Man's Cabin, Ruby, Pie Plant, Tin Cup and Yule Creek.

The first settlement was Richardson's Colony which was founded in 1874 on the site of present-day Gunnison. It was abandoned shortly thereafter. In 1877 the Ute Indian Agency of Los Pinos was established. In the same year Gunnison County was carved out of Lake County. By 1879 Professor Sylvester Richardson and Colorado Governor John Evans decided to try again and founded the townsite of Gunnison. Gunnison became the County Seat and the courthouse was finished in 1880. Pitkin County was carved out in 1881, and 2 years later, in 1883 the Counties of Delta, Mesa and Montrose were also carved out.

The elevation of the county ranges from 7,000' to 14,000'. Summers are pleasant, but Gunnison County is noted as being one of the coldest areas of Colorado in the winter (-20 degrees is common). Approximately 85% of Gunnison County is Federal land owned by the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Curecanti National Recreation Area. The economic base is tourism, skiing, education, mining and ranching. Western State College of Colorado is located in Gunnison. The college has an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. Gunnison County population was 11, 931 in July 1995.

The town of Marble, located in northern Gunnison County, is the site of the Colorado Yule Marble Company which produced the marble used to build many famous buildings and monuments in America, including the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Crested Butte was established in 1879 as a coal mining region, but nowadays is a ski area and resort town