Pueblo is situated at the confluence of theArkansas River andFountain Creek, 112 miles (180 km) south of theColorado State Capitol inDenver. 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.
From 1050 to 1450, the area that is now Pueblo was first inhabited byPaleo-Indians andArchaic peoples, as well as people of theApishapa culture. By 1500, theUtehunter-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. In 1521,Spain assumed control of the land, however, very little settlement or occupation ever occurred.[14] By the time of the17th century, the Ute acquiredhorses from the Spanish allowing them to huntbison on the plains. The Ute bands of the Pueblo area were theTabaguache and theMuache. Along the eastern Arkansas River, the Jicarilla Apache lived in villages and hunted bison, and grew corn, beans, and squash.
During the middle of the 18th century, theComanche came through the middle of Colorado on horseback, claiming the Arkansas River valley and pushing up against the boundary ofNew Spain. The Ute and Comanche formed an alliance, trading and raiding along modern-day Southern Colorado and NorthernNew Mexico. In 1779 between modern-day Pueblo and Colorado City,Juan Bautista de Anza invaded the area and killed the Comanche leaderCuerno Verde. Despite the loss, the indigenous peoples continued to fight back against the Spanish, with the Comanche claiming swathes of land from Southeastern Colorado toTexas.
By the early 1800's, the Arapaho entered and claimed modern-day Pueblo as well, having a fierce rivalry with the Ute.[15] The area was also frequented by theCheyenne and thePawnee.[14]
James Beckwourth, George Simpson, and other trappers such asMathew Kinkead andJohn Brown, claimed to have helped construct the plaza that became known asEl Pueblo around 1842.[16] According to accounts of residents who traded at the plaza (including that of George Simpson), theFort Pueblo Massacre happened sometime between December 23 and 25, 1854, by a war party ofUtes andJicarilla Apaches under the leadership of Tierra Blanca, a Ute chief.[17] They allegedly killed between fifteen and nineteen men, as well as captured two children and one woman.[18] The trading post was abandoned after the raid.[19]
Early development: railroads, steel, expansion, and orphanages
In 1848, the United States acquired the Pueblo County area through theMexican Cession, ending the Mexican-American War. The Colorado Gold Rush began in 1858, springing interest in the area back up. Independence, a traveling camp opened on the east side of Fountain creek, later being named Fountain City onceJosiah Smith's prospecting party arrived in September. Pueblo as well as Fountain City were bothplatted in 1860. The Pueblo, Kansas Territory, post office opened on December 13, 1860.[20] Pueblo became the namesake of the county when theTerritory of Colorado was established by Congress in 1861.[14]
The Cheyenne and Arapahoe were ousted from Colorado toOklahoma in 1867 from theMedicine Lodge Treaty, and the Ute were ousted to Western Colorado via the Treaty of 1868. 1869 sawCharles Goodnight pioneering theGoodnight-Loving Trail, afterwards he grazed cattle in the region. His ranch headquarters were established in Rock Canyon Ranch (also known asGoodnight Ranch), west of Pueblo in the Nolan Grant. The bison population nationwide began to significantly lower, leading to cattle heads from the plains coming during the 1870's.
The current city of Pueblo represents the consolidation of four towns: Pueblo (incorporated 1870),South Pueblo (incorporated 1873),Central Pueblo (incorporated 1882), andBessemer (incorporated 1886). Pueblo, South Pueblo, and Central Pueblo legally consolidated as the City of Pueblo between March 9 and April 6, 1886. Bessemer joined Pueblo in 1894.[21][22][23]
The consolidated city became a major economic and social center of Colorado, and was home to important early Colorado families such as the Thatchers, theOrmans, and the Adams. By the early 1870s the city was being hailed as a beacon of development, with newspapers like theChicago Tribune boasting of how the region's lawless reputation was giving way to orderly agriculture with triumphalist rhetoric. One author crowed of Pueblo that "the necessity exists no longer for Sharp's rifles and revolvers. These have been [supplanted] by the plow and the mowing-machine."[24]
Pueblo's development stretched beyond agriculture. Steel emerged as a key industry very early, and in 1909 the city was considered the only steel town west of the Mississippi River.[25]
Until a series of major floods culminated in the Great Flood of 1921,[26] Pueblo was considered the 'Saddle-Making capital of the World'. Roughly one-third of Pueblo's downtown businesses were lost in this flood, along with a substantial number of buildings. Pueblo struggled with this significant loss, but has had a resurgence in growth.[citation needed]
Historically, many people were influenced by the orphanages of Pueblo, and the homes are now all historical sites. The three orphanages in Pueblo were known as Sacred Heart, Lincoln, and McClelland. Lincoln was the first historically black orphanage in Colorado, and one of only seven in the country. Sacred Heart was run by the Catholic Welfare Bureau, while McClelland was run by the Lutheran Church. Several children from Cuba were placed at Sacred Heart as part of "Operation Pedro Pan". Though the orphanages in Pueblo are no longer in service, the buildings still exist and have transformed with the times. According to theRocky Mountain News, in 1988 the Sacred Heart Orphanage was bought by the Pueblo Housing Authority and turned into 40 small-family housing units.[27]
The main industry in Pueblo for most of its history was theColorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I) Steel Mill on the south side of town. For nearly a century the CF&I was the largest employer in the state of Colorado. The steel-market crash of 1982 led to the decline of the company. After several bankruptcies, the company was acquired byOregon Steel Mills and changed its name to Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. The buyout, as well as the end of the union contract in 1997 led to a union strike over pension liabilities, as well as working conditions, wherein the union argued the new owners still needed to pay the pension liabilities provided by the previous owners. With the conclusion of the strike on December 30, 1997, CF&I had replaced several hundred union workers with local employees.[28]
In September 2004, bothUnited Steelworkers locals 2102 and 3267 won the strike and the unfair labor practice charges. All of the striking steel workers returned to their jobs, and the company paid them the back pay owed for the seven years they were on strike. In 2007, shortly after Oregon Steel made amends with the union and its workers,Evraz Group, one of Russia's biggest steel producers, agreed to buy the company for $2.3 billion.[29]
Of the many production and fabrication mills that once existed on the site, only the steel production (electric furnaces, used for scrap recycling), rail, rod, bar, and seamless tube mills are still in operation.[30] The wire mill was sold in the late 1990s to Davis Wire, which produced products such as fence and nails under the CF&I brand name.[31] The facility operated blast furnaces until 1982, when the steel market collapsed. The main blast furnace structures were torn down in 1989 and the remaining ones in 1990.[32]
Several of the administration buildings, including the main office building, dispensary, and tunnel gatehouse were purchased in 2003 by theBessemer Historical Society. In 2006, they underwent renovation. In addition to housing the historic CF&I Archives, they also house theSteelworks Museum of Industry and Culture.[33]
Due to the growth of theCF&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.[34]Irish,Italian,[35]German,Slovenian,Greek,Jewish,Lithuanian,Russian,Hungarian,Japanese, andAfrican-American groups arrived in the area at the turn of the century and remain to the present time. The convergence of cultures led to a cosmopolitan character to the city that resulted in a number of ethnically rooted neighborhoods that are typically not seen west of the Mississippi. Respective cultural groups maintain cultural festivals to the present, with the city being home to locations of theOrder Sons of Italy,American Slovenian Catholic Union, andI.O.O.F., among others.
Another major employer in Pueblo is Colorado State Hospital. The hospital is the preeminent mental health facility in the Rocky Mountain region. Established in 1879 as the Colorado State Insane Asylum, it was renamed as the Colorado State Hospital in 1917. In 1991, the name was changed to the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP). The Robert L. Hawkins High Security Forensic Institute opened in June 2009 and is a 200-bed, high-security facility.[36]
In 1993, Pueblo City Council adopted the tagline "Home of Heroes" for the city due to the fact that Pueblo can claim more recipients of the Medal per capita than any other city in the United States. On July 1, 1993, theCongressional Record recognized Pueblo as the "Home of Heroes."[38] A memorial to the recipients of the medal is at the Pueblo Convention Center.
Pueblo has aSemi-arid climate (KöppenBSk), with four distinct seasons. Winter days are usually mild, but the high does not surpass freezing on an average 14.4 days per year, and lows fall to 0 °F (−18 °C) or below on 6.2 nights.[41] Snowfall usually falls in light amounts, and rarely remains on the ground for long (typically, for one or two days). January is the snowiest month, and the seasonal average is 28.3 inches (72 cm);[41] however, snow is uncommon in October, and in May or September, snow is exceedingly rare, with an average first and last date of measurable (≥0.1 in or 0.25 cm) snowfall being November 4 and April 9, respectively.[42] Summers are hot and dry, with 90 °F (32 °C) or greater highs are on average seen 71.6 days per year, with 100 °F (38 °C) or greater on 12.0 days.[41] Diurnal temperature ranges are large throughout the year, averaging 32.5 °F (18.1 °C).
Precipitation is generally low, with the winter months receiving very little. Sunshine is abundant throughout the year, with an annual total of nearly 3,470 hours, or 78% of the possible total.[43] Pueblo is considered a high desert climate, and sits on the desert lands in southern Colorado between Pueblo and theRoyal Gorge.
The hottest temperature recorded in Pueblo was 109 °F (42.8 °C) on July 13, 2003, while the coldest temperature recorded was −31 °F (−35.0 °C) on February 1, 1951.[42]
Climate data for Pueblo, Colorado (Pueblo Memorial Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1888–present
Pueblo, Colorado – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
In 2010, the racial makeup of the city was: 75.2% White, 2.5% Black or African American, 2.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 4.1% two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) were 49.8% and Non-Hispanic Whites were 45.2% of the population.[49]
As of the census[50] of 2000, there were 102,121 people, 40,307 households, and 26,118 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,265.5 inhabitants per square mile (874.7/km2). There were 43,121 housing units at an average density of 956.6 units per square mile (369.3 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 56.21%White, 2.41%African American, 1.73%Native American, 0.67%Asian, 0.06%Pacific Islander, 15.20% fromother races, and 3.71% from two or more races. Residents ofHispanic orLatino ancestry made up 44.13% of the population. 10.1% were ofGerman, 8.1%Italian, 6.0% American, 5.5% English and 5.4% Irish ancestry according toCensus 2000.
There were 40,307 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city, 25.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.3% was from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,650, and the median income for a family was $35,620. Males had a median income of $29,702 versus $22,197 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,026. About 13.9% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
Vestas Wind Systems constructed the largest (nearly 700,000 square feet) wind turbine tower manufacturing plant in the world at Pueblo's industrial park.[53] It sold the facility toCS Wind in 2021.[54]
Renewable Energy Systems Americas broke ground on theComanche Solar Project seven miles south of Pueblo in 2015.[55] When complete, it will be the largestsolar energy farm east of the Rocky Mountains, and its backers say the project will produce electricity more cheaply thannatural gas.[55] The project will cover 1,000 acres with 500,000 solar panels, providing a capacity of 156 megawatts of power—enough to supply 31,000 homes.[55] The project will be run bySunEdison, with a power purchase agreement signed byXcel Energy.[55] A number of scientific studies now list Pueblo as the state's primary locale for solar energy development and the premier setting for solar companies to locate, placing it ahead of regional rivals such as Boulder, Colorado and Taos, New Mexico.[56]
In February 2017, Pueblo City Council voted to commit the city to100% renewable energy ("Ready for 100%") by 2035, with the city's electric franchisee,Black Hills Energy, expected to ramp up its renewable energy portfolio from 29% to 65%.[57]Pueblo County commissioners joined the renewable commitment in April 2018.[58] For several years, Pueblo's Energy Future has been pushing the city to become amunicipal electric provider. Among the claimed advantages for the move toward independence: lower cost to the consumer, increased reliability and the opportunity to move more aggressively toward renewable energy development. At one time, an August 2020 "divorce" seemed possible.[59]
Top employers
According to Pueblo's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[60] the top employers in the city are:
Pueblo is the home to Colorado's largest single event, theColorado State Fair, held annually in the late summer, and the largest parade, the state fair parade, as well as an annual Chile & Frijoles Festival.[61]
Pueblo is a state-chartered municipal corporation, previously governed by its city council without the office of mayor and administered by a city manager. In 2017 voters passed Question 2A changing the city charter to a strong-mayor form of city government known as "Mayor-Council Government". Only two other cities in the state of Colorado use the strong-mayor form of government, Denver and Colorado Springs. In 2018 an election was held for mayor for the first time in over sixty years, due to none of the sixteen candidates getting more than fifty percent of the vote, a runoff was required to decide the winner.
In January 2019, attorney Nick Gradisar faced former Pueblo City Council President Steve Nawrocki, Gradisar prevailed and was sworn in as mayor on the first of February for a term of five years, with all subsequent mayoral terms being four years and a maximum of two consecutive terms.[69][70][71]
Former mayor Nick Gradisar in 2021
Gradisar ran for re-election in 2023 and faced a runoff against Heather Graham in January 2024. In the runoff, Graham defeated Gradisar and was sworn in as mayor on February 1, 2024.[6][72]
The deputy mayor is selected by the mayor and must be confirmed by a vote of the city council, the deputy mayor serves a term of one year. According to the city charter, the deputy mayor must be a city department head.[73]
The city council is elected by the residents of the city. There are seven council seats, four of which are elected by district, and three elected at-large.[74]
Pueblo is included inColorado's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is currently represented by RepublicanJeff Hurd.[75] Pueblo is also included in the 3rd District of the Colorado State Senate, currently represented by DemocratNick Hinrichsen, and districts 46 and 62 of the Colorado State House, currently represented by Democrats Tisha Mauro andMatthew Martinez.[76]
The Pueblo Police Department is led by Chief Chris Noeller[77] Per capita, the crime rate in Pueblo is higher than the national average for a city of the same size and does not take into account the surrounding unincorporated cumulative population of 176,529.[78] In 2016, the FBI's Uniform Crime Report listed Pueblo's major reported crimes stats as: 1,081 violent crime, murders 9, rape 171, robbery 224, aggravated assault 677, property crimes (all) 7,473, burglary 1,797, larceny 4,505, motor vehicle theft (all) 1,171,arson 49.[79]
Pueblo is home toColorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo), a regional comprehensive university. It is part of the Colorado State University System (CSU System), with about 4,500 students.[80] On May 8, 2007, CSU Pueblo received approval from the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System to bring back football as a member of theRocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The first game was played in the fall of 2008 at the ThunderBowl, a stadium at CSU Pueblo for over 12,000 spectators. In 2014, the football team won theNCAA Division II Football Championship.[81][82]
Pueblo Community College (PCC) is a two-year, public, comprehensive community college, one of thirteen community colleges within theColorado Community College System (CCCS). It operates three campuses serving a widely dispersed eight-county region in Southern Colorado.[83] The main campus is located in Pueblo and serves Pueblo County.[83] The Fremont Campus is located approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Pueblo in Cañon City and serves Fremont and Custer Counties.[83] The Southwest Campus, 280 miles (450 km) southwest of Pueblo, serves Montezuma, Dolores, La Plata, San Juan, and Archuleta counties.[83] PCC is a Hispanic Serving Institution as designated by the Federal Government. Approximately 5,000 students attend PCC per semester.[84]
Centennial High School was founded north of downtown on Eleventh Street in 1876, the year Colorado entered the Union. Centennial was rebuilt on a new site to the northwest in 1973.Central High School was founded in Bessemer in 1882. Central's present campus on East Orman Avenue was built in 1906 and expanded in the early 1970s. Its original building still stands four blocks away on East Pitkin Avenue.South High School andEast High School were built in the late 1950s to accommodate theBaby Boomer generation.Pueblo County High School, east of the city in Vineland, serves rural residents.Rye High School is in a foothills town southwest of Pueblo.Pueblo West High School is located in the northwestern suburb ofPueblo West.
Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School was founded in 2004, and relocated to its current building in 2007. It features the only Early College Program in Pueblo recognized by the State of Colorado, where many students graduate with their associate degree from Pueblo Community College while also earning credit from Colorado State University Pueblo. Other Pueblo area high schools include Southern Colorado Early College, School of Engineering and Biomedical Science (formerly Pueblo Technical Academy), Parkhill Christian Academy and the Health Academy.
The Puebloradio market includes all ofPueblo County.[89] In its Fall 2013 ranking of radio markets by population,Arbitron ranked the Pueblo market 238th in the United States.[90] Six AM and 15 FM radio stations broadcast from or arelicensed to the city.[91][92][93]
Pueblo and itsUnion Depot last saw passenger train service in 1971. Once an important hub, the city was served by fourClass 1 railroads, as well as a number of smaller operators.[95]
Amtrak's dailySouthwest Chief makes a stop 64 miles (103 km) east of Pueblo atLa Junta, providing direct rail transport toLos Angeles, Albuquerque,Kansas City,Chicago, and dozens of smaller locales. In 2016, Amtrak looked at rerouting theSouthwest Chief to serve Pueblo directly. It estimated the new stop would increase annual ridership by 14,000 and ticket revenue by $1.45 million.[96]
Pueblo has been proposed as the southern terminus forFront Range Passenger Rail, which would provide service to Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Cheyenne.[97]
Pueblo Memorial Airport - The local airport lies to the east of the city. Throughout the year, aircraft spotters can see large C-130, C-17, and E-3 performing landings and takeoffs. Modern fighters such as the F-22, F-15, F-35, and F-16 are also seen on occasion flying around the facility and parked on the ramp.SkyWest Airlines under the flag ofUnited Express services the airport with non-stop daily flights toDenver International Airport, utilizing Bombardier's CRJ-200 aircraft. The airport is also home to thePueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum (named for Fred Weisbrod, late city manager), reflecting the airport's beginnings as an Army Air Corps base in 1943.[98]
Joe Arridy, mentally disabled man wrongfully convicted of murder and rape; put to death in the 1930s; pardoned in 2011 as the first and only posthumous gubernatorial pardon in the state of Colorado.[108]
Many of the scenes inTerrence Malick's 1973 opusBadlands were filmed in and around Pueblo.[112] The film was subsequently selected for preservation by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Food Wars, a series on cable television'sTravel Channel, came to Pueblo to stage a contest between the Sunset Inn's and Gray's Coors Tavern's versions of theslopper. The episode first aired in August 2010.[114]
Pueblo is portrayed as the city whereMacGruber is laid to rest in 2000 in the2010 film that bears his name.[115]
The 1959 novelThe Caretakers by author Dariel Telfer, along with its1963 film adaptation, is based upon the author's experiences as an employee at the Colorado State Hospital in Pueblo.[116]
Many of the Colorado and Kansas scenes of the 1983 filmNational Lampoon's Vacation were filmed in and around Pueblo. Highway 50 East of Pueblo is the site of Cousin Eddie's house and the hotel in "Creede" Colorado is actually near St. Mary Corwin Hospital.[118]
The 1980s filmCurse of the Blue Lights was set in Pueblo and was filmed on location.[119]
^Lecompte, Janet (1978).Pueblo, Hardscrabble, Greenhorn: The Upper Arkansas, 1832-1856. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 35–53,54–62,63–85,246–253.ISBN0-8061-1462-2.Sometime during the winter of 1841-42 George Simpson and Robert Fisher met with other men and planned the Pueblo.
Aschermann, Arla (1994).Winds in the Cornfields: Pueblo County, Colorado 1787 – 1872 (Third ed.). Pueblo, Colorado: Pueblo County Historical Society.ISBN0-915617-15-3.
Broadhead, Edward (1995).Fort Pueblo (Fourth ed.). Pueblo, Colorado: Pueblo County Historical Society.ISBN0-915617-01-3.
Buckles, William G. (2006).The Search for El Pueblo: Through Pueblo to El Pueblo – An Archaeological Summary (Second ed.). Pueblo, Colorado: Colorado Historical Society.ISBN978-0-942576-48-1.
Dodds, Joanne West (1982).Pueblo: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning.ISBN0-89865-281-2.
Dodds, Joanne West (1994).They All Came To Pueblo: A Social History. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning.ISBN0-89865-908-6.
.jpg)
.jpg)
_-_Pueblo_Area%2c_CO(ThreadEx).svg)
