Pueblo

Pueblo (Template:IPAc-en; Spanish for "town") is the home rule municipality that is the county seat of, and the most populous municipality in, Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States census, making Pueblo the ninth most populous city in Colorado. Pueblo is situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek, 112 miles (180 km) south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Pueblo is often referred to as the "Steel City" or "The Pittsburgh of the West," due to the steel mill on its south side. Pueblo is also known as the "Home of Heroes" because it has produced the most Congressional Medal of Honor winners per capita of any American city. Pueblo is the home of the Colorado State Fairgrounds, the Colorado Mental Health Institute, and Colorado State University–Pueblo.

Geography and Climate

Pueblo is situated on the Arkansas River, near its confluence with Fountain Creek, at an elevation of 4,690 feet (1,430 metres). Pueblo County is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains, 100 miles south of Denver, along Interstate 25 and US Highway 50. The area is considered semi-arid desert land, with approximately 12 inches (304.80 mm) of precipitation annually. With its location in the "Banana Belt," Pueblo tends to get less snow than the other major cities in Colorado. Three hundred days of sunshine each year plus the flow of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek provide rich agricultural land and ample recreational activities.

Set just 30 miles south of Colorado Springs, Pueblo is located conveniently off the I-25 corridor, making travel easy in all directions. San Isabel National Forest (to the west) is headquartered at Pueblo. To the east, the terrain gives way to the high plains of southeastern Colorado. Being home to Colorado's most visited state park has its perks — Lake Pueblo State Park remains the front runner for outdoor recreation and adventure in southern Colorado, only a 5-mile drive from downtown.

History

Indigenous Peoples and Early Settlement

From 1050 to 1450, the area that is now Pueblo was first inhabited by Paleo-Indians and Archaic peoples, as well as people of the Apishapa culture. By 1500, the Ute hunter-gatherers inhabited the region, who hunted in the mountains during the summer and wintered in warmer areas, such as modern-day Pueblo, during the winter. Long before Pueblo became a bustling American trading post and city, it was a crossroads frequented by Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Ute peoples.

The Spanish first assumed control over the land where Pueblo sits in 1521, but little occupation or settlement occurred until after Mexican independence in 1821. The international border between the United States and Mexico was initially the Arkansas River, which ran right through the area of present Pueblo. Founded in 1842 on the Arkansas River, which divided the United States from Mexico, El Pueblo was an important cultural crossroads of the Southwest. Several groups traded, farmed, and ranched in and around this combination trading post and settlement: Anglo, French, and African-American trappers and traders; Mexican settlers and their families; and Plains, Iroquois, Delaware, and Cherokee Indians.

Tensions mounted between the tribes and the trappers, traders, and settlers, and following a raid on the Utes and Jicarilla Apaches' land, the tribes attacked the post on Christmas 1854, killing or capturing those present. The post was abandoned and later disappeared under the changing landscape of a growing city.

Founding and the Railroad Era

The Colorado Gold Rush of 1858–59 and the people it brought to the area led to the platting of Pueblo and the neighboring community of Fountain City in 1860. Pueblo became the namesake of Pueblo County, organized as one of the original seventeen counties in Colorado Territory, which Congress established in 1861. Pueblo was incorporated as a town in 1870 and as a city in 1885.

The first driver of economic growth in Pueblo was the arrival of the railroad. The Denver & Rio Grande was an important force behind Pueblo's industrial growth and eventual consolidation. Coal from the hinterlands of southern Colorado came through town on the railroad. When the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad reached Pueblo in 1876, regional agricultural products also began to move through town. Growth was stimulated by the arrival of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1872 and the Santa Fe line in 1876.

This area once housed four separate towns: Pueblo, South Pueblo, Central Pueblo, and Bessemer. These four towns together now make up the City of Pueblo.

The Steel Industry

The opening of the steel mill in 1882 made it possible for Pueblo to become the city it is today. William Jackson Palmer picked Pueblo as the site of the Colorado Coal & Iron Company (later renamed Colorado Fuel & Iron) because of its proximity to coal, limestone, and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The 130-year operation of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company made Pueblo the largest industrial center west of the Mississippi.

Due to the growth of the CF&I steel mill and the employment that it offered, Pueblo in the early twentieth century attracted a large number of immigrant laborers. The groups represented led to Pueblo becoming the most ethnically and culturally diverse city in Colorado and the West. At one point, more than 40 languages were spoken in the steel mill and more than two-dozen foreign language newspapers were published in the city. Irish, Italian, German, Slovenian, Greek, Jewish, Lithuanian, Russian, Hungarian, Japanese, and African-American groups arrived in the area at the turn of the century and remain to the present time.

The main industry in Pueblo for most of its history was the Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I) Steel Mill on the south side of town. Several of the administration buildings, including the main office building, dispensary, and tunnel gatehouse were purchased in 2003 by the Bessemer Historical Society. In 2006, they underwent renovation. In addition to housing the historic CF&I Archives, they also house the Steelworks Museum of Industry and Culture.

The Great Flood of 1921

One of the most well-known natural disasters in Pueblo's history is The Great Flood of 1921. The flood warning first came at 6:30 p.m. on June 3, 1921. An unknown person called and reported that the Arkansas River was flooding upstream. The flood was caused by a sudden cloudburst on the Arkansas just ten miles west of Pueblo. The flood only became worse when Fountain Creek also began to flood from downpours 30 miles north. A flood-control system along the Arkansas River was constructed to prevent recurrence of the 1921 flood disaster, and a dam impounds a large reservoir 6 miles (10 km) upstream from the city.

Economy

Great economic distress followed the end of production at the CF&I plant. Pueblo has worked to reinvigorate its economy through heritage tourism development and downtown revitalization. The success of Pueblo's industries such as aerospace, railway, and outdoor recreation can be attributed to its commitment to a thriving economy while preserving historical and cultural values within the community.

Northeast of Pueblo is the Association of American Railroads' Transportation Technology Center, a 52-square-mile (135-square-kilometer) proving ground for railroad equipment and new technology. Pueblo lies near coalfields and is an important manufacturing, retail, and trucking centre for the surrounding Arkansas River Valley irrigated agricultural region.

The city is also a hub of higher education, enrolling nearly 14,000 students between Colorado State University Pueblo and Pueblo Community College. The Pueblo Memorial Airport is a full-service municipal airport providing hangars, fuel, maintenance, charters, and commercial flights.

The city launched the HARP (Historic Arkansas River Project) to redevelop and revitalize Pueblo's Riverwalk and Union Avenue Historic District. HARP restores the Arkansas River channel, once diverted for flood control, to its original location in the heart of Pueblo. Pedestrian pathways, bike paths, and narrated cruises connect historic attractions.

Culture, Landmarks, and Events

Home of Heroes

The City of Pueblo is also known as the "Home of Heroes." This moniker was referenced in a speech in 1993 by then-Colorado Representative Scott McInnis as he spoke to Congress about the uniqueness of a city Pueblo's size having a record four recipients of the Medal of Honor claiming Pueblo as their hometown: William J. Crawford, Army WWII; Carl L. Sitter, Marines Korea; Raymond J. "Jerry" Murphy, Marines Korea; and Drew D. Dix, Army Vietnam. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, upon presenting Raymond G. "Jerry" Murphy with his medal in 1953, commented, "What is it... something in the water out there in Pueblo? All you guys turn out to be heroes!"

The Colorado State Fair

Pueblo has been instrumental in encouraging and rewarding the agricultural history of Colorado through hosting the Colorado State Fair. The Colorado State Fair began October 9, 1872. It was held by the Southern Colorado Agricultural and Industrial Association, which received no cash assistance from the community or the State. Today the Colorado State Fair resides on 102 acres of land that contains paved streets and impressive landscaping. Late summer is when the city thrives, hosting two of its biggest events: the Colorado State Fair and the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival. In late August, you can always expect the state fair to kick off with an annual parade, then enjoy 11 days of rides, food, rodeo, concerts, and more.

Arts and Culture

The Creative Corridor is focused around the three historic city centers of Pueblo: Downtown Main Street, Union Avenue Historic District, and the Mesa Junction. Each retains its uniqueness while providing an enjoyable stroll from one end to the other. Cultural sites include the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, the Steelworks Center of the West, the Southeastern Colorado Heritage Center, and Rawlings Library.

The Pueblo Levee Mural Project is a mural along a levee of the Arkansas River certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest painting in the world. It is a 3-mile-long continuous mural located in Pueblo, Colorado. The mural was originally started in the 1970s, when students of nearby Colorado State University–Pueblo began painting over existing graffiti. They worked at night to evade notice by the police, and in the end the work received support from the community.

Pueblo Memorial Hall is a vibrant cultural hub located in the heart of downtown Pueblo. Dedicated in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson, Memorial Hall has served Southern Colorado for more than 100 years with a mission to inspire, educate, and connect audiences.

Pueblo is also home of the world-famous Pueblo Chili, a mild green pepper that is celebrated with its own festival every September in downtown Pueblo.

Museums and Attractions

In 1959, the Colorado Historical Society converted the old Pueblo Municipal Airport hangar into the original El Pueblo Museum to interpret the rich and diverse heritage that has made the region a crossroads of culture for more than three centuries. An archaeological excavation to locate the remains of the original El Pueblo trading post began in 1988, and uncovered partial remains in the middle of the downtown district. The excavation site, enclosed by a glass pavilion, is now part of a new museum complex.

Conveniently located at Pueblo Memorial Airport, the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum (PWAM) is one of Colorado's largest collections of military, space, and civilian aircraft, vehicles, and artifacts spanning over a hundred years of history, comprising over 85,000 square feet across two hangars and outdoor exhibits. The Pueblo Zoo is a 25-acre zoo located in Pueblo, Colorado. The zoo is open year-round and is home to over 420 animals of more than 140 species. The Pueblo Zoological Society manages the zoo, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.