Mount Elbert was named by miners in honor of Samuel Hitt Elbert, the governor of the then-Territory of Colorado, because he brokered a treaty in September 1873 with the Ute tribe that opened up more than 3000000acre of reservation land to mining and railroad activity [REF].
Originally measured as in height, Mount Elbert's elevation was later adjusted to following a re-evaluation of mapped elevations, which sparked protests.