Hand Built for maximum Impact by The Cyrus Company. 1998.
As has been the case since D. Moreau Barringer secured the ownership of the Barringer Meteorite Crater in 1903, the Barringer Crater Company continues to promote its founder's abiding interest in the events surrounding the creation of the Crater. Barringer's descendants, now in their fourth generation, own and operate the company under the same guiding principles which he so strongly advocated. In keeping with his wishes, the company operates as a privately held business, with each of eight branches of his family represented on the Board of Directors.
The fundamental purpose of the company continues to be the preservation of the Crater as a memorial to the pioneering scientific work of its founder. Recognizing that the Crater is a unique natural land-mark of great scientific importance, strong public interest, and significant educational value, it is the company's long-held policy to maintain the property in as nearly a natural state as possible and to ensure appropriate and controlled access to it by the general public. The company also is committed to making the Crater available to the scientific community for ongoing research and field study.
In addition to maintaining the Crater itself, the Barringer Crater Company has a strong interest in encouraging and supporting scientific exploration and research within the field of meteoritics, particularly in the area of impact phenomena. Each year the company provides modest research grants to scientists around the world to assist them in conducting essential field work. In addition, the company helps sponsor a limited number of highly regarded doctoral students in attending important international scientific meetings and seminars. The company is advised by several internationally acclaimed scientists, and a number of its directors are actively involved in the Meteoritical Society, a scientific association interested in the study of asteroids, comets, meteors and the solar system. In 1982, the company established an endowed award program within the Meteoritical Society, known as the Barringer Medal, to recognize outstanding scientific achievement in the field of impact cratering.
The Barringer Crater Company has an ongoing interest in promoting scientific education about the Crater and its role in the evolution of the solar system. The company believes that through its stewardship of the Crater, both the general public and the scientific community will continue to benefit from the educational and scientific value of this unique and fascinating natural phenomenon.