Before Robert P. McCulloch, land developer and oil magnate, and his company McCulloch Properties, Inc. came to Colorado, the area that is now known as Pueblo West was undeveloped rangeland. Historically occupied by Ute and Comanche people, most recently the land was used for ranching, supported by the water from the Arkansas river. Receiving inspiration from the neighboring City of Pueblo, Colorado and the momentum of successfully creating Lake Havasu City, Arizona, McCulloch and his company formally founded the Pueblo West Metropolitan District (the District) on September 16, 1969. Not long after the creation of the District, McCulloch built the Pueblo West Inn where guests were treated to a luxurious experience in an effort to sell land in the rolling prairies of the new community. The Pueblo West News, the District's first newspaper, reported by 1974 over 2,000 new residents had moved into Pueblo West, and Pueblo School District 70 founded Pueblo West Elementary with 200 students enrolling in the fall. In 1977 McCulloch Properties pleaded guilty to criminal fraud for large‐scale land sales misrepresentation and was forced to refund dissatisfied customers. By 2001 Pueblo West was growing too fast to keep up with its water needs, so it bought an upstream ranch, along with its water rights.