Charlene Garcia Simms

Pueblo Charlene Garcia Simms

At the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek, Native Americans were the first to inhabit Pueblo and its surroundings. Pueblo means "village" in Spanish, appropriate for an area that was settled in the early 1800s by people from present-day New Mexico with Spanish and Native American roots. A trading post established in 1842 was named "El Pueblo." The gold rush of 1858 attracted the first influx of people who saw more opportunity in Pueblo than in the goldfields. With its vision to become a great city with railroads, a steel mill, and smelters, Pueblo was soon known as the "Pittsburgh of the West." Employment and business opportunities invited emigrants from all over the world, creating a diverse city populated with people of many ethnicities. Pueblo has persevered through natural disasters and economic turmoil, building a thriving and resilient community through each chapter of its history.