Price, the county seat of Carbon County, is the largest city in the county and is located in the Price River Valley of the Colorado Plateau province of Utah. It is believed that Price was named after LDS Bishop William Price of Goshen, Utah, who explored the region in 1869. The area was originally a part of Sanpete County, and then was included in Emery County when it was created in 1880. Price was organized on 14 July 1892 while it was still a part of Emery County.

Caleb Baldwin Rhoades and Abraham Powell, trappers from Salem, Utah, were the first recorded settlers in the Price River Valley. They arrived in October 1877 and built a cabin in the northwest corner of what is now Price. The two returned to Salem when the trapping season was over. Their talk aroused interest in the area among their friends and families, and they soon convinced a group join them in relocating in the Price River Valley. However, Abraham Powell never returned to Price as he was killed by a bear on 7 December 1878 while hunting in the Nebo Mountains.

On 21 January 1879 Caleb Rhoades returned to the valley with two brothers, Frederick Empire Grames and Charles W. Grames. The men helped each other build homes for their families. Later that year, they were joined by their families and others, most coming from Utah County.