History of Pueblo, Colorado
City of Pueblo is a Colorado municipalities, 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 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 U.S. Census estimates, the city proper had an estimated population of 103,495. Pueblo is the Colorado municipalities by population ninth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the list of United States cities by population 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. Many consider Pueblo to be the economic hub of southeastern Colorado. Some people call Pueblo "Colorado's second city," which dates to the time Pueblo was the second largest city in Colorado, a status it lost only after the incorporation of Lakewood, Colorado in 1969.
Pueblo was formerly one of the largest steel-producing cities in the United States, because of this Pueblo is referred to as the "steel city". 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". 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 the University of Southern Colorado and before that Southern Colorado State College. It is part of the Colorado State University system, with about 6,000 students. On May 8, 2007, C.S.U. Pueblo got approval from the Colorado State system board of governors to bring back football with an 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 the (named for Fred Weisbrod, late city manager), 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). Rush Limbaugh refers to the city as "Pueblo, Colorado, home of the government pamphlet".
source Wikipedia