Pueblo County

The city of Pueblo developed on the site of trading posts established in the 1830s and ‘40s, and in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it became the industrial center of the American West.

The modern city of Pueblo took shape between 1872 and 1894, through the gradual merger of four separate towns: Pueblo, South Pueblo, Central Pueblo, and Bessemer. Nearly every economic, cultural and political development in Pueblo County after 1900 can be traced to one company – Colorado Fuel and Iron. To provide a steady supply of rails, CF&I became the nation’s first steel mill west of the Mississippi River. Once the largest employers in the county, CF&I still exists today and is operated with a scaled down workforce by the Evraz Corporation as the Rocky Mountain Steel Mills.

The City of Pueblo is a rich and diverse community, with the industrial prowess in the 20th century bringing immigrants from Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Poland, and Slovenia (just to name a few) – as well as residents from New Mexico, and black workers from throughout the United States. The community became a true melting pot.
Agriculture remains an important part of the Pueblo County economy, leading crops include the famous Pueblo chili pepper, dry beans, melons, and potatoes. Along with cattle, horses, goats and sheep being raised on local ranches.

Arts and culture are abundant in the county, with areas packed with galleries, museums, street sculptures, fountains and live music. Events, festivals and local attractions give Pueblo a unique flavor. Each August Pueblo hosts the Colorado State Fair, in September you can visit the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival, and area attractions include the Pueblo Riverwalk, the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center and Neon Alley – which is known as “the largest collection of neon art west of Times Square and east of Las Vegas.”