Before the first settlers arrived in the Avon area around 1874, the Eagle River Valley was a summer hunting and fishing haven for the Ute Indians. Elk, deer and buffalo were among the hunted animals in the valley.

The early English immigrants in the area were said to have named the area Avon because it reminded them of the Avon River Valley in England, birthplace of William Shakespeare.
 
Early ranchers and farmers produced cattle, sheep, potatoes, peas, lettuce, and cream. From the late 1880's through the turn of the century, there were 10 passenger trains a day going through Avon.

The Nottingham family moved to the ranch in 1896. The Nottinghams ran cattle and grew potatoes, lettuce, oats, wheat, peas and hay. In 1941, the ranch made the change from cattle to sheep and continued to do so until 1972 when they sold their controlling interest in the land to Benchmark Companies. Third and fourth generation Nottinghams are still in the area and have several things named after the family: Nottingham Park, Nottingham Rock, Nottingham Road and Nottingham Ranch Road.

Avon was incorporated as a town on February 24, 1978. After 10 years, in 1988, Avon had a permanent population of 1,500 people. Twenty years after incorporation, in 1998, that population doubled to 3,000. The 2000 census indicates that in just two short years, Avon's population has once again practically doubled to 5,561.

Avon is often referred to as the commercial core of the Eagle River Valley. It has boomed into a wonderful family community where people can live, work and play in the "HEART OF THE VALLEY".