Editing Cañon City, Colorado (section)

==History==
{{See also|Early history of Fremont County, Colorado}}
Cañon City was laid out on January 17, 1858, during the [[Pike's Peak Gold Rush]], but then the land was left idle. A new company "jumped the claim" to the town's site in late 1859, and it put up the first building in February 1860. The Cañon City, Colorado, post office opened on December 13, 1860.<ref name=CPO>{{cite book|title=Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989|first1=William H.|last1=Bauer|first2=James L.|last2=Ozment|first3=John H.|last3=Willard|date=1990|publisher=[[Colorado Railroad Museum|Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation]]|location=[[Golden, Colorado]]|isbn=0-918654-42-4}}</ref> The spelling of the town's name frequently omitted the [[tilde]] over the [[Ñ|Spanish letter ñ]]. This town was originally intended as a commercial center for [[mining]] in [[South Park (Park County, Colorado)|South Park]] and the upper Arkansas River.<ref>"Canon City, its rise and progress," Canon City ''Times'', November 10, 1860, p.4.</ref>
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===1860s to 1900===
[[File:Bird's eye view of Canon City, Colo. - DPLA - 3e4dfabc98a14673a333bd593a1047a5.jpg|thumb|left|Bird's eye view of dwellings, commercial and civic buildings between the Arkansas River and mountains in This drawing of Canon City, Colorado, 1882.]]
In 1861, the town raised two companies of volunteers to serve with the [[2nd Colorado Infantry Regiment|Second Colorado Infantry]] during the [[American Civil War]]. This regiment fought in skirmishes in nearby [[New Mexico]] and as far east as the Indian Territory ([[Oklahoma]]) and [[Missouri]] before ending its organization in 1865.

In 1862, A. M. Cassaday drilled for [[petroleum]] {{convert|6|mi|0}} north of Cañon City, close to a known oil seep. Cassaday struck oil at the depth of {{convert|50|ft}}, and he completed the first commercial oil well west of the [[Mississippi River]]. He drilled five or six more wells nearby, and he refined [[kerosene]] and fuel oil from the petroleum. Cassaday sold the products in [[Denver]].<ref>Francis M. Van Tuyl and Arthur E. Brainerd (1960), ''Historical summary'', in Mineral Resources of Colorado First Sequel, Denver: Colorado Mineral Resources Board, p.491-492.</ref>

Congress approved the Territory of Colorado's request for funds to construct a penitentiary in 1867. The [[Colorado State Penitentiary|Colorado Territorial Penitentiary]] opened in 1871, becoming Colorado's first prison. The original structure held 43&nbsp;prisoners, though the number of incarcerated people increased steadily to over 400 people by the turn of the century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Brooke |date=2020-01-05 |title=Back In Time: History of the Colorado Territorial Penitentiary |url=https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2020/01/05/back-in-time-history-of-the-colorado-territorial-penitentiary/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Canon City Daily Record |language=en-US}}</ref> Records of inmate labor at the penitentiary date to 1872, including numerous complaints that inmates were not receiving full compensation for their work. Incarcerated workers contributed significantly to the development of the city, including the construction of Skyline Drive by 60&nbsp;inmates. The scenic road opened in 1905.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Brooke |date=2020-07-05 |title=Back In Time: For more than 100 years, Skyline Drive has been a must see for locals and visitors alike |url=https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2020/07/04/back-in-time-for-more-than-100-years-skyline-drive-has-been-a-must-see-for-locals-and-visitors-alike/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Canon City Daily Record |language=en-US}}</ref>

A number of metal ore [[smelting|smelters]] were built in Cañon City following the discovery of gold at [[Cripple Creek, Colorado|Cripple Creek]] in 1891. On July&nbsp;30, 1904, the spelling of the Cañon City post office was changed to the common [[English language|English spelling]] "[[Canyon City, Colorado|Canyon City]]", but the spelling was changed back to the [[Spanish language|Spanish spelling]] "Cañon City" on December&nbsp;15 of that year.{{clear|left}}

===Historical designations===
The [[Cañon City Downtown Historic District]] is an [[historic district]] that was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1983.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>