Drake Oil Well - Cherrytree Township, PA
Posted by: 
Szuchie
N 41° 36.647 W 079° 39.474
17T E 611825 N 4607433
The Drake Oil Well marked the birth of the oil industry and the site where Col. Edwin Drake first drilled and struck oil in 1859.
Waymark Code: WM3EQR
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2008
Views: 34
According to the NRHP's archive, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has reconstructed the Drake Oil Well on its original site. The first well was built in early June 1857 and was 12 feet square at the base. A steam engine powered a white oak battering ram. The derrick was housed in a tall, steeple-like structure that is at one end of a one-story, gabled roofed shed. Both the tower and shed were covered with rough, illfitting clapboard, as is the replica. Inside, machinery illustrates how the pioneer oil man drilled the world's first oil well.
In addition to the rebuilt well, the park includes a museum and a library. Both of the preceding are housed in a modern one-story brick building. Exhibits in the museum illustrate not only the history of Drake's well, but also the general story of petroleum. The library contains an impressive manuscript and printed collection concerning the oil industry. These features do not contribute to the national significance of the landmark.
The Drake Oil Well is part of the Drake Well Museum. According to Wikipedia, the Drake Well Museum is a museum that interprets the birth of the oil industry in 1859 by "Colonel" Edwin Drake along the banks of Oil Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The museum collects and preserves related artifacts. Its Drake Oil Well demonstrates the first practical use of salt drilling techniques for the extraction of petroleum through an oil well.
Oil was known to exist in the Oil Creek Valley of northwestern Pennsylvania, but there was no practical way to extract it. Its main use at that time was as medicine for both animals and humans. In the late 1850s Seneca Oil Company (formerly the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company) sent its manager, Colonel Edwin L. Drake, to start drilling on a piece of leased land just south of Titusville, a slow-growing and peaceful community. Lumber was the principal industry at the time, with at least 17 sawmills in the area. Drake hired a salt well driller, William A. Smith, in the summer of 1859. After many difficulties, they finally drilled a commercially successful well on August 27. Considered the birth of the oil industry, it was an event that changed the world.
Street address:
205 Museum Lane
Titusville, PA USA
16354
County / Borough / Parish: Venango
Year listed: 1966
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event/Industry
Periods of significance: 1850-1874
Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction
Current function: Recreation And Culture
Privately owned?: no
Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.