Draft:Oil Spring

Oil Spring is a historic site near Cañon City, Colorado. It is alternatively known as Oil Spring Claim on Four Mile Creek. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

A 160 acre property including Oil Spring was claimed by Gabriel Bowen on September 3, 1860, although research by Donald Kupfer noted that there were spurious, competitive claims about first discovery. Bowen intended to exploit the oil to form Colorado's first oil company, G Bowen & Co.. This was only one year after the first commercial oil well in the United States, the Drake Well in Pennsylvania, was drilled.

The spring was only viable for twenty years once the Florence Oil Field was discovered and began operation. The NRHP-listed property is just a 2.6 acre portion of Bowen's original 160 acre claim.

Donald H. Kupfer
Donald H. Kupfer (Oct. 4, 1918 -Nov. 20, 2010), died in Powell, Wyoming at age 92. He was a geology professor at Louisiana State University for 25 years. He was recipient of various honors for his accomplishments: among other honors he was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American Association for the Advancement of Science, the 1974 recipient of the Leverson Award of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the 1997 Outstanding Educator Award of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies. He was married to another geologist, Romaine (Littlefield) Kupfer, and, after his retirement in 1980, they moved together to Canon Springs in 1983. He was instrumental in seeing to the recognition of the Oil Spring site in the National Register of Historic Places (in 2002?) and conducted some of the oil samples to establish the history. Kupfer died in 2010 and this is covered in his obituary.

Notes?
Category:Oil wells in the United States Category:National Register of Historic Places in Fremont County, Colorado Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1862