Seneca Oil Spring - Cuba, New York
Posted by: 
Szuchie
N 42° 13.897 W 078° 18.397
17T E 722256 N 4679005
The site where the first petroleum was discovered in the United States of America!
Waymark Code: WM397B
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 02/29/2008
Views: 40
According to the guide:
At the southwest tip of the lake, is the Cuba Reservation, 4.7 m., cue squared mile, which includes the first observed petroleum spring in America, discovered in 1627 by Joseph de la Roche D’Allion, a Franciscan friar. A stagnant, brush grown pool, the spring is 18 feet in diameter and of unknown depth. An iron-bound cask, preserved by the oil, has occupied the center of the spring as long as anyone can remember. Indians used the oil for medicinal purposes. The spring and the adjacent land was reserved in perpetuity to the Seneca Indians by the Big Tree Treaty of 1797; in 1937 but one lone Seneca Lived in its confines.
New York: A Guide to the Empire State 1940.
The above coordinates will take visitors to the site of the first petroleum spring. The first discovery of oil in America occured here near Cuba, New York. The oil spring is located near the spillway end of Cuba Lake on the Oil Springs Reservation, Allegany County, New York. This is the site of the famed spring described by the Franciscan Missionary Joseph De La Roche D'Allion in 1627, the first recorded mention of oil on the North American Continent. In 1927, the New York State Oil Producers Association sponsored the dedication of a monument at the site describing the history of the oil industry in North America. The site is now under the supervision of the County of Allegany and a picnic area is available for those visiting there.
Near this site, there is a New York Historical marker placed by the State Education Department in 1932. This marker is located at:
42 13.066
78 18.665
This marker reads:
"Seneca Oil Spring. 1627 first petroleum discovered in America, 1 mi. north 1000 yds east."
Coordinates for the park entrance are:
42 13.903
78 18.692
Book: New York
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 687
Year Originally Published: 1940
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