alley, and more. The school had been accredited up to three years of high school with senior year taken elsewhere, usually Meeker, or forfeited. Company camps were built in many places in the valley, and in 1947 Rangely was incorporated as a town with Fred Nichols voted in as Mayor. In the 1960s the Rangely oil field was a major producer in the country and deemed such an important strategic asset that bomb shelters were built at the college and supplied with coats, blankets, food and water. By 1949 there were 478 wells across 30 miles in the Weber formation. The peak rate of the area was 82,000 by 1956. Rangely's oil field was known as the Rangely Weber Sand Unit by 1998 and recovered more than 815 million barrels of oil, making it the largest field in the Rocky Mountain Region. This Region has 406 producing wells, 351 injection wells and produces about one third of Colorado's oil production coming out to a huge 20,000 barrels a day. The Weber Basin, has recovered an additional 12 million barrels of oil from the shallower Mancos Shale at depths less than 2000 feet. The Sand Unit is a unitized field so is owned by many, but only Chevron USA Production operates the field. Major oil companies, smaller independent oil companies, trust and individuals numbering almost 30 share the expenses and the benefits of the field today. The Unit provides jobs for approximately 300 individuals and makes up about 70 percent of the property tax revenue for Rio Blanco County. In 2015, Colorado Northwestern Community College, Rangely Campus, began the excavation of an important fossil dig of the bones and very rare skin and tendons of a Duckbill Dinosaur which was located in Rangely. The Duckbill Dinosaur, which ultimately took on the name of Walter, was excavated and the fossils were airlifted to a federal repository on Colorado Northwestern Coummunity College's Craig Campus on Thursday, July 11, 2019. With this event, along with the formation of the town, one can see how the past continues to link with the present to make Rangely's story interesting and ongoing. Historic places Near Rangely are the following prehistoric Fremont culture sites listed as National Register of Historic Places: Prehistoric sites Collage Shelter Site – dated from 500–1499 AD. Cañon Pintado – dated from 500–1899 AD. Carrot Men Pictograph Site – dated from 500–1499 AD. Fremont