About

The history of Gunnison follows essentially the pattern of Mormon settlements throughout the intermountain region. The leaders were frontiersmen - sons of a bold and hardy race that had pushed past settled regions and conquered the wilderness. Or, they were emigrants from Europe - particularly Scandinavia - most of whom had spent a few years in frontier life. But more important is the fact that they believed in the future and had faith in their ability to conquer the unconquered. 

In the Spring of 1859, a party led by Jacob Hutchinson settled the area they called Chalk Point, known today as Gunnison. At first the settlers tried a site just west o the present town, a place which they found to their dismay tended to flood with spring high water. The place was also called HogWallow, due to the watery, soft ground. The name used today, of course, is in honor of Captain John W. Gunnison, the government explorer, who lost his life with six of his men in 1853 when his party was attacked by a band of Piutes. This incident, however, took place in Millard County, not in Sanpete. In the fall of 1865, the western boundary of the Twelve-Mile Indian Reservation was extended to include Gunnison, thus making settlement of land titles impossible in Gunnison Valley until June, 1878.