Difference between revisions of "Conrad Kupfrian"

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| date_of_birth  =[[December 17]], [[1833]]
 
| date_of_birth  =[[December 17]], [[1833]]
| place_of_birth =Germany
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| place_of_birth =Frankenberg, Germany
 
| date_of_death  =[[February 16]], [[1892]]
 
| date_of_death  =[[February 16]], [[1892]]
 
| place_of_death =Pensacola
 
| place_of_death =Pensacola
 
| occupation    =Businessman
 
| occupation    =Businessman
 
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| spouse        =Margaret Grehl Kupfrian
 
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Latest revision as of 22:01, 29 January 2009

Conrad Kupfrian
Born December 17, 1833
Frankenberg, Germany
Died February 16, 1892
Pensacola
Occupation Businessman
Spouse Margaret Grehl Kupfrian

Conrad Kupfrian was a Pensacolian businessman who founded the Pensacola Streetcar Company and introduced streetcars to Pensacola, in 1884. Kupfrian was also the proprietor of Kupfrian's Park.

A native of Germany, Kupfrian immigrated to America at age fourteen. After moving to Pensacola, he was apparently sent to St. Louis by his employer for career training, where he saw and was inspired by the city's horsecar system. Returning to Pensacola, he formed a partnership with John Pfeiffer and John Cosgrove, raising $50,000 in capital and persuading the City Council to pass an ordinance allowing steel tracks in the roadway. His first streetcars were horse-drawn, but he later converted to electric.

Kupfrian created an amusement park in what was then the northwestern part of the city, known as Kupfrian's Park, as a destination to complement the streetcar system after normal business hours.