El Pueblo Early History

Founded in 1842 on the Arkansas River—which divided the United States from Mexico—El Pueblo was an important cultural crossroads of the Southwest. Here lived Anglo, French, and African-American trappers and traders; Mexican settlers and their families; and Plains, Iroquois, Delaware, and Cherokee Indians. The occupants traded, farmed, and ranched in and around this combination trading post and settlement. Made of adobe, the post and its living quarters were built around a secure interior plaza.

Secure, that is, for a while. For many years relations with the American Indians were cordial. However, after enduring many hardships under American occupation, tensions mounted with the tribes. On Christmas 1854, a party of Utes and Jicarilla Apaches suddenly attacked the post, killing or capturing those present at El Pueblo. Now El Pueblo, which had been active only intermittently since 1848, was abandoned forever. In time the skeleton of the old fort disappeared under the changing landscape of a growing city. Then, in 1989, archaeologists began a search to uncover El Pueblo's buried past and to expand our knowledge of cultural currents along the Arkansas River a century and a half ago.

El Pueblo Museum Begins a New Era

In 1959, the Colorado Historical Society converted the old Pueblo Municipal Airport hangar into the original El Pueblo Museum, which became the fourth facility in the Society's regional museum system. With the theme of Cultural Crossroads on the Arkansas, El Pueblo Museum interprets the rich and diverse heritage that has made the region a crossroads of culture for more than three centuries. In 1988, Dr. William Buckles of the University of Southern Colorado began an archaeological excavation to locate the remains of the original 1842 El Pueblo trading post. The investigation uncovered partial remains in the middle of the downtown district. In 1990, the Museum was opened very close to the excavation site, at the junction of Union Avenue and First Street. The city has since launched the HARP (Historic Arkansas River Project) to redevelop and revitalize Pueblo's Riverwalk and Union Avenue Historic District. In response to this project, El Pueblo History Museum invoked plans for its own $7.2 million renovation to enhance the facility's uses as both an historical interpretive site and a community center.

21st-Century Vision for El Pueblo History Museum

The new El Pueblo History Museum serves as the gateway to the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk Historic District and as an educational gathering place focused on Pueblo's diverse history and vibrant present. The new museum showcases the history and traditions of the various cultural and ethnic groups in Pueblo, so that the history of these groups will be passed on to the youth of the community. Downtown Pueblo's new image, created through the efforts of both the HARP and El Pueblo History Museum Project, has increased area tourism and museum attendance.