Colorado Experience: Pueblo

Explore the turbulent history of Pueblo, Colorado's once-industrial capital. Pueblo's sovereignty had long been disputed; Native American tribes, Mexicans and the US all claimed its land. Fort Pueblo suffered a devastating raid by the Ute Indians in 1854, causing its inhabitants to abandon the town. The Colorado Gold Rush of 1859 brought new settlers and Pueblo became a major economic center for Colorado, until a flood in 1921 destroyed a third of the town's businesses. While the town thrived for years on the success of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, the decline in the steel market in the 1970's led to the company's bankruptcy, but not before bringing immigrants from around the world to settle there. Known as the "home of the heroes," a reference to the city's four Congressional Medal of Honor Winners, Pueblo's residents today are proud of their town's past and optimistic about its future. Colorado Experience covers the history of the people and events that shaped this beautiful and historic city. To learn more about Colorado Experience, visit www.rmpbs.org/ColoradoExperience