Pueblo, Colorado

The City of Pueblo (IPA: /[[IPA chart for English|'sɪti əv 'pwɛbloʊ]]/) is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of Pueblo County, Colorado, USA. Pueblo is situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek. The area is considered to be semi-arid with approximately 14 inches (350 mm) of precipitation annually, however with its location in the "banana belt", Pueblo tends to get less snow than the other major cities in Colorado. According to the 2005 Census estimates, the city proper had an estimated population of 103,495. Pueblo is the ninth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 242nd most populous city in the United States. Pueblo is the heart of the Pueblo Metropolitan Statistical Area and an important part of the Front Range Urban Corridor.Template:GR.

Pueblo was formerly one of the largest steel-producing cities in the United States. It is now home to a number of electronics and aviation companies. The Historic Arkansas River Project (HARP) is a beautiful river walk that graces the historic Union Avenue district. It shows the history of the Pueblo Flood.

It is the hometown of Damon Runyon, who never returned after 1911 or so, but mentioned Pueblo in many of his newspaper columns (notably his "Our Old Man" pieces). Pueblo is also the home of Dutch Clark, the only man from Colorado in the NFL hall of fame. Pueblo's largest football stadium is named after him.

Due to Pueblo's size and importance in Colorado's political landscape Pueblo has been visited by many presidents over the years. On September 25, 1919, on a speaking tour trying to gather the support of the American people for joining the League of Nations, President Woodrow Wilson collapsed, and a week later suffered the stroke which incapacitated him for the rest of his presidency.

Pueblo is the hometown of four Medal of Honor recipients - Drew D. Dix, Raymond G. Murphy, William J. Crawford, and Carl L. Sitter. The Medal of Honor is the highest military award that can be bestowed upon a member of the United States Armed Forces; Teddy Roosevelt lobbied for one but never received it during his lifetime, and General George Patton said "I'd sell my immortal soul for that Medal." 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!". In 1993, The City Council adopted the tagline "Home of Heroes" because it can claim more recipients per capita than any other city in the United States. On July 1, 1993, the Congressional Record recognized Pueblo as the "Home of Heroes" (http://www.pueblo.org/homeofheroes/. There is a memorial to the recipients of the medal at the Pueblo Convention Center. Central High School is known as the "School of Heroes," as it is the alma mater of two recipients, Sitter and Crawford, more than any other high school in the country.

Pueblo is home to Colorado State University - Pueblo, formerly University of Southern Colorado. It is part of the Colorado State University system, with about 6,000 students. C.S.U. On May 8, 2007, Pueblo got approval from the Colorado State system board of governers to bring back football with a expected start date of the fall of 2008. C.S.U. Pueblo will be a part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and will play their home games at Pueblo's Dutch Clark Statidum.

Pueblo is the home to Colorado's largest single event, the Colorado State Fair, held annually in the late summer, and the largest parade, the state fair parade, as well as and an annual Chili Festival.

The highways U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 25 cross each other at Pueblo, possibly making it the second most important intersection in the state, after I-70 and I-25 in Denver. The local airport, Pueblo Memorial Airport, lies to the east of the city. It is home to an aircraft museum, reflecting the airport's beginnings as an Army Air Corps base in 1943. Pueblo Transit provides bus service six days a week throughout the city. Due to the growth of the Pueblo Metro Area they are considering forming a regional transportation district so they can serve some of Pueblo's fastest growing suburbs.

Pueblo may be best known as the home of the Federal Citizen Information Center, operated by the General Services Administration, and its Consumer Information Catalog. For some 30 years, TV commercials have invited Americans to write for information at "Pueblo, Colorado, 81009" (though the official address is Post Office Box 100). In recent times GSA has incorporated Pueblo into FCIC's toll-free telephone number (1-888-8 PUEBLO) and web address (www.pueblo.gsa.gov). Rush Limbaugh refers to the city as "Pueblo, Colorado, home of the government pamphlet".

History

In 1842 traders built a fort, or barricaded settlement, where Pueblo now stands. Generally about a dozen families lived there, traveling to various Indian encampments to trade for buffalo robes. On Christmas Eve, 1854 Fort Pueblo was attacked by about 100 Utes and most of the inhabitants killed. The site remained uninhabited until the towns that would eventually constitute the modern town of Pueblo were settled after the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859.

The current city of Pueblo represents the consolidation of four towns: Pueblo (incorporated 1870), South Pueblo (incorporated 1873), Central Pueblo (incorporated 1882), and Bessemer (incorporated 1886). Pueblo, South Pueblo, and Central Pueblo legally consolidated as the City of Pueblo between March 9th and April 6th of 1886. Bessemer joined Pueblo in 1894 .

The consolidated city was once a major economic and social center of Colorado, and was home to important early Colorado families the Thatchers, Ormans and Adams. Until a series of major floods culminated in the Great Flood of 1921, 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 has long struggled to come to grips with this loss, and has only recently begun a resurgence in growth.

The economic situation of Pueblo was further exacerbated by the decline of American steel in the 1970s and '80s, and Pueblo actively seeks to diversify its economic base to this day. The City features a river walk, extensive trail system, industrial park, and revitalized downtown area to this effect.

The Steel Mill

The foundation, stoves, and powerhouse of A-Furnace

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. The steel-market crash of 1982 lead to the decline of the company. After going through several bankruptcies, the company was acquired by Oregon Steel Mills and recently changed its name to Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. Since the acquisition, the company has been plagued with labor problems, mostly due to accusations of unfair labor practices. The problems culminated with a major strike in 1997, leading to most of the workforce being replaced.

Several of the administration buildings, including the main office building, dispensary, and tunnel gatehouse were recently purchased by the Bessemer Historical Society. They are currently undergoing renovation, and will eventually house a museum and the CF&I Archives.

Out of the many production and fabrication mills which 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. The wire mill was sold in the late 1990's to Davis Wire, which still runs it and produces products such as fence and nails under the CF&I brand name.

The facility operated a number of blast furnaces until 1982, when the bottom fell out of the steel market. The main blast furnace structures were torn down in 1989, but due to asbestos content, many of the adjacent stoves still remain. The stoves and foundations for some of the furnaces can be easily seen from Interstate 25, which runs parallel to the plant's west boundary.

The State Hospital

Historically the other major employer in Pueblo was the State Hospital which formerly served the entire state. Established in 1879 as the Colorado State Insane Asylum it was known as the Colorado State Hospital after 1917. In 1991, the name was changed to the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP).

Geography

Location of Pueblo, Colorado

Location of Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo is located at 38°16′1″N 104°37′13″W (38.266933, -104.620393)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 117.5 km² (45.4 mi²). 116.8 km² (45.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.66%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 102,121 people, 40,307 households, and 26,118 families residing in the city. The population density was 874.6/km² (2,265.5/mi²). There were 43,121 housing units at an average density of 369.3/km² (956.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.21% White, 2.41% African American, 1.73% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 15.20% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44.13% of the population.

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 the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 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.

Notable natives and residents

• Grant Withers, Hollywood leading actor, from the silents to 1950s.
• David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard.
• Damon Runyon, newspaperman and writer.
• Kelly Reno, child actor from The Black Stallion.
• Frank G. Clarksdale, cat wrangler for movie short Cat's Saturday.

Sister cities

Pueblo has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

• Bergamo, Italy
• Chihuahua, Mexico
• Lucca Sicula, Italy
• Puebla, Mexico
• Weifang, China

References

• "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Colorado" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 21 2006. Retrieved November 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Dodds, Joanne West (1994). They All Came To Pueblo: A Social History. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning Company. ISBN 0-89865-908-6.
• Dodds, Joanne West (1982). Pueblo: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning Company. ISBN 0-89865-281-2.
• Aschermann, Arla (1994). Winds in the Cornfields: Pueblo County, Colorado 1787 - 1872, 3rd edition. Pueblo, Colorado: Pueblo County Historical Society. ISBN 0-915617-15-3.

External links

• City of Pueblo (official website)