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Pueblo was formerly one of the largest steel-producing cities in the United States. 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. 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 the hometown of four Congressional 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 than any other city in the United States. On July 1, 1993, the Congressional Record recognized Pueblo as the "Home of Heroes" (http://www.pueblo.org/homeofheroes/. 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 University of Southern Colorado. It is part of the Colorado State University system, with about 6,000 students. Pueblo is the home of the Colorado State Fair, held annually in the late summer, and an annual Chili Festival. Pueblo may be best known as the home of the Federal Citizen Information Center and its Consumer Information Catalog. For some 30 years, TV commercials have invited Americans to write for information at "Pueblo, Colorado, 81009." HISTORY In 1842 traders built a fort, or barricaded settlement, where Pueblo now stands. Generally about a dozen families lived there, traveling to various Indian encampments to trade for buffalo robes. On Christmas Eve, 1854 Fort Pueblo was attacked by about 100 Utes and most of the inhabitants killed. The site remained uninhabited until the modern town of Pueblo was settled after the Colorado Gold Rush Of 1859 . Pueblo was once a major economic and social center of Colorado, and was home to important early Colorado families the Ormans and Adams'. Until a series of major floods culminated in the Great Flood of 1921, Pueblo was considered the 'Saddle-Making capital of the World'. Roughly one-third of Pueblo's downtown businesses were lost in this flood, along with a substantial number of buildings. Pueblo has long struggled to come to grips with this loss, and has only recently begun a resurgence in growth. The economic situation of Pueblo was further exacerbated by the decline of American Steel in the 1970s and '80s, and Pueblo actively seeks to diversify its economic base to this day. The City features a riverwalk, extensive trail system, industrial park, and revitalized downtown area to this effect. The steel mill The main industry in Pueblo for most of its history was the Colorado Fuel And Iron (CF&I) steel mill on the south side of town. The steel-market crash of 1982 lead to the decline of the company. After going through several bankruptcies, the company was acquired by Oregon Steel Mills and recently changed its name to Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. Since the aquisition, the company has been plagued with labor problems, mostly due to accusations of unfair labor practices. The problems culminated with a major strike in 1997, leading to most of the workforce being replaced. Out of the many production and fabrication mills which once existed on the site, only the steel production (electric furnaces, used for scrap recycling), rail, rod, bar, and seamless tube mills are still in operation. The wire mill was sold in the late 1990's to Davis Wire, which still runs it. The facility operated a number of blast furnaces until 1982, when the bottom fell out of the steel market. The main blast furnace structures were torn down in 1989, but due to asbestos content, many of the adjacent stoves still remain. The stoves and furnace foundations can be easily seen from Interstate 25, which runs parallel to the plant's west boundary. The State Hospital Historically the other major employer in Pueblo was the State Hospital which formerly served the entire state. Established in 1879 as the Colorado State Insane Asylum it was known as the Colorado State Hospital after 1917. In 1991, the name was changed to the Colorado Mental Health Institute At Pueblo (CMHIP). GEOGRAPHY Pueblo is located at 38°16'1" North, 104°37'13" West (38.266933, -104.620393). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 117.5 Km&2 (45.4 Mi&2 ). 116.8 km&2 (45.1 mi&2) of it is land and 0.8 km&2 (0.3 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 0.66% water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 102,121 people, 40,307 households, and 26,118 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 874.6/km&2 (2,265.5/mi&2). There were 43,121 housing units at an average density of 369.3/km&2 (956.6/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 76.21% White , 2.41% African American , 1.73% Native American , 0.67% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 15.20% from Other Races , and 3.71% from two or more races. 44.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 40,307 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were Married Couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,650, and the median income for a family was $35,620. Males had a median income of $29,702 versus $22,197 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $16,026. 17.8% of the population and 13.9% of families were below the Poverty Line . 24.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. EXTERNAL LINKS
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