Historical Marker

416th Night Fighter Squadron

Historical marker location:
United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
Marker installed: 1992

Activated: 20 February 1943 • Inactivated: 9 November 1946.

In 1913, the city of Trinidad, Colorado, became the site of the first successful oil well-drilled west of the Mississippi River. The discovery led to a boom in oil production in the region, and Colorado became a major oil-producing state.