Grand County is named for a river that no longer goes by that name

If you wonder why this place is called “Grand,” the answer is on the map, just under a different name.

The big river that starts here was once called the Grand River. For many years, the stretch of the Colorado River above its meeting with the Green River carried the name Grand. The county took its name from that river. So did Grand Lake, the Grand Valley, and other “Grand” names across the state.

The river was later renamed the Colorado River all the way up to its headwaters, which sit inside this county. The county name stayed the same. That is why you can live in Grand County, on the Colorado River, and never see a “Grand River” on a current map.

The county itself was created in 1874 by the Colorado Territory, two years before Colorado became a state. It was carved out of land that had been part of Summit County. Its early boundaries were larger than they are today, and later changes trimmed them to the shape we know now.

This is a small thing, but it explains a lot of names you will see while settling in. To read the founding story from the county’s own account, start with the Grand County government site and History Colorado.