Petrolia – Historical Oil Discovery Site
Posted by: 
Hard Oiler
N 42° 53.390 W 082° 08.390
17T E 406927 N 4749211
The Petrolia Discovery site is a monument to Petrolia’s instrumental role in the development of the oil industry over 100 years ago.
Waymark Code: WMV29
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 10/13/2006
Views: 110
This Ontario Heritage Property designation covers the whole 50 acre site however the plaque is located on the Fitzgerald Rig building in the centre of the site.
Built in 1903, this is the largest pumping rig still operating in the world with a 22 ft bull-wheel. It has been operating almost continuously for nearly a century. Initially, the rig was powered by steam. Later it used an internal combustion engine and finally, an electric motor.
The rig takes its name from the man who erected it, Frederick Ardell Fitzgerald, the first president of Imperial Oil Ltd. Fitzgerald had owned this site and in 1921 Fred Hamlin bought it and operated 22 wells here. By 1972 only five wells were producing oil. Murray Bradley was the last private owner and sold the site to the Town of Petrolia. It is now owned and operated as a working historic oil museum by the Petrolia Discovery Foundation.
