Products Made in Colorado

Colorado's industry began with mining. Gold strikes from 1858 drew prospectors to the mountains, and Leadville became a silver boom town around 1880. Smelters in Denver and Pueblo processed the ore, and Pueblo's steel mill, opened in the 1880s, rolled rails for western railroads. Sugar beet factories and flour mills grew on the farms east of the Front Range. Golden has three of today's makers: Spyderco builds its Para Military 2 and other folders there, KONG molds its Classic rubber dog toys, and Atlas Pet Company makes climbing-rope leashes. Longmont has Bison Designs making belts, SodaPup making rubber chew toys and Thirsties sewing cloth diapers. Celestial Seasonings blends tea in Boulder, Hammond's pulls candy canes in Denver, and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory makes chocolates in Durango. Estes has made model rocket engines in Penrose since 1961.