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County population: 28,167

Gunnison county was divided in 1883, forming Montrose county. The area was settled on the heels of the Ute Indians leaving the territory.

The town of Montrose was founded in 1882, a short time after the Ute Indians were removed from the Uncompahgre (Un come pah gray) Valley. Early Montrose towns were the typical frontier cow towns. Gun play, quarreling and saloon brawls were common that made history and legend.

At the turn of the century (1900), the Bureau of Reclamation  created the project to build the 7 mile long Gunnison Tunnel.  The result was irrigation water that turned the valley into fertile growing lands for many types of agriculture.  President Howard Taft came to Montrose to dedicate the project in September of 1909.