Pueblo (city, Colorado)

Pueblo (city, Colorado), city in central Colorado and seat of Pueblo County. The city is located on the Arkansas River, at the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Pueblo is a transportation and industrial center in an irrigated farming region with a growing service economy. The city is the location of several federal offices, including the Consumer Information Center of the United States General Services Administration. To the east of the city is a logistics center for the U.S. Army. Air transportation is through Pueblo Memorial Airport.

The city is home to the University of Southern Colorado (1933) and a community college. Cultural institutions include the El Pueblo Museum, with exhibits on the various cultures that inhabited the region; the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, with several galleries and a children’s museum; and a museum of military aircraft. The Colorado State Fair is held in the city each August.

The region around Pueblo was long used as a crossroads for hunting and trade by several Native American peoples. In 1806 explorer Zebulon Pike erected the first structure, a small temporary garrison of logs, at what was to become the city. The first substantial development was begun by trader Jim Beckwourth and other trappers. They built an adobe fortress at the confluence of Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River in 1842. Beckwourth gave the community its name, which means “town” in Spanish.

Settlement of the region was accelerated by a gold rush in 1858. The arrival of the railroad in 1872, combined with discovery of coal nearby, created an industrial boom. Pueblo incorporated in 1886 as a consolidation of three existing towns. Flooding in 1921 led to the construction of a flood-control project on the Arkansas River.

Pueblo covers a land area of 117 sq km (45 sq mi), with a mean elevation of 1,421 m (4,662 ft). According to the 2000 census, whites are 76.2 percent of the population, blacks 2.4 percent, Native Americans 1.7 percent, Asians 0.7 percent, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 0.1 percent. The remainder are of mixed heritage or did not report race. Hispanics, who may be of any race, are 44.1 percent of the people. Population 101,686 (1980); 98,640 (1990); 102,121 (2000); 103,730 (2006).