Pueblo Industrial Growth and Downsizing

Prior to its development as an American trading post and city, the Pueblo area was frequented by Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Ute people. Trade with Mexico made Pueblo a hub of economic activity, best symbolized by the establishment of the El Pueblo Colorado trading post in 1842. In the 1870s, Pueblo slowly industrialized with the introduction of the railroad, which was used to transport raw materials that would eventually contribute to its rapid industrialization. The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company and the Pueblo Army Depot were the two largest employers in Pueblo, Colorado. Each company brought immigrants from around the globe to Pueblo. However, due to changes in the steel industry resulting from the global economy and the downsizing of the Union Depot, these two titans would no longer be the core of Colorado’s economy.