LibGuides: Read It, See It : PA Oil Industry: Drake Well Museum

Drake Well Museum

Discover the place where the modern petroleum industry was born on August 27, 1859

Our event took place on August 19, 2021. Discover the Drake Oil Well Museum and Park https://www.drakewell.org/

This session was recorded and has been added to the  State Library's Lunch-and-Learn archive online  

Read More About discovering oil In Pennsylvania

Birth of the Oil Industry by Paul H. Giddens
Publication Date: 1938
History of the discovery of oil around the world.
Business Builders in Oil by Nathan Aaseng
ISBN: 9781881508564
Publication Date: 2000-05-01
Profiles pioneers in the oil industry in the United States
John A. Mather: The Legacy of Pennsylvania’s Oil Region Photographer. by Morrow, Dixie, Ries, Linda A. and Anne W Stewart, eds.
Publication Date: 1995
Mather's historic oil regions of western Pennsylvania by Mather, John Aked.; Bell, Edwin C. [ed.]
Publication Date: 1994
Reprint of 1890s photographic album by John A. Mather (1829-1915) depicting the oil fields of Northwest Pennsylvania.
Misplaced glory : the lost soldiers of 1847-1865 in the Pennsylvania oil region : with authentic proofs by ancient documents, official records and other original publications by Lioy, May
Call Number: State Library Main Closed Stacks 974.803 M451m
Publication Date: 1944
Myth, legend, reality : Edwin Laurentine Drake and the early oil industry. by Brice, William R.
Call Number: State Library Main Open Stacks 620.92 D789 B76
Publication Date: 2009
Pithole: the vanished city; a story of the early days of the petroleum industry by William C. Darrah
Call Number: State Library Main Closed Stacks 974.87 D252p 1972
ISBN: 0913116033
Publication Date: 1972-01-01
A history of early oil exploration in Pennsylvania

Frank Robbins : Early stereoscopic art of the Pennsylvania oilfields. by Spencer, Jeff A.
Call Number: State Library Main Open Stacks 974.8705 Oi7 2011
Publication Date: 2011
originally from Oilfield Journal v.9.
The Drake well and unintended consequences by William R. Brice
Call Number: State Library Main Open Stacks 974.8705 Oi6 2010
Publication Date: 2010
originally from Oil Industry History v. 11 no. 1 p. 61-83

Miller, Ernest C. and Stratton T.K.. “Oildom’s Photographic Historian,” in The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, 1972 (Vol. 55, No. 1) 1-54.

Oil-industry History by Drake Well Foundation.; Petroleum History Institute.
Call Number: DCNR/Geology Library
Publication Date: 2000-
Contact DCNR/Geology Library for more information 717-702-2020

American Oil and Gas Historical Society
Identifies historical resources on oil and gas industry in the United States and includes links to free, digitized materials.
DPLA (Digital public Library of America)
Search for "Drake Oil Well" and get 63 results. Images of the oil well and the 90th Anniversary of the first discovery included.
PHMC Museum Collection- Drake Well Museum
Online images of Drake Well and other PA historical site artifacts.
Power Library - PA Photos and Documents
Digital images from many institutions across Pennsylvania. This link will take you to the search page. Put in "Drake Oil Well" and receive over 1000 results.

Drake Well Museum archival materials
Interested researchers may contact the Drake Well Museum for access to thousands of historical photographs and resources on the oil industry in Pennsylvania.

The Oil Regions of Pennsylvania Showing Where Petroleum is Found, How it is Obtained, and at What Cost by Wright, William
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections 665 W934 1865
Publication Date: 1865
Available digitized at: https://archive.org/details/oilregions00wrigrich
Petrolia : a brief history of the Pennsylvania petroleum region, its development, growth, resources, etc., from 1859 to 1869. by Cone, Andrew and Johns Walter R.
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections 553.282 C756p 1870
Publication Date: 1870
Available digitized at: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/15106744.html
Oil and Gas by Smedley, Elizabeth; Murray, Ann, ill.; Strehlan, Carl, ill.
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections 504 P384 Oi1
Publication Date: 1944
Works Progress Administration publication intended for youth audiences featuring colorful illustrations.
The Bradford Oil District of Pennsylvania by Ashburner, Charles A.
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections PV 1965 No. 2
Publication Date: 1879
Available digitized at: https://archive.org/details/bradfordoildistr00ashb
The Cherry Run Petroleum Company by Cherry Run Petroleum Company
Call Number: Rare Collections PV 1121 No. 11
Publication Date: 1863
Description of Oil Lands of the Tionesta Oil, Lumber and Mining Company by Tionesta Oil, Lumber and Mining Co.
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections PV 1117 No. 6
Publication Date: 1864
The Church on Quintuple Mountain: A Story of Pennsylvania Oil Country Life, Possibly a Trifle Exaggerated in Spots by Bion, H. Butler; Foss, Stradley & Butler
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections 813.5 B976
Publication Date: 1912
Available digitized at: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/9335523.html
Oil City Derrick, Oil City Weekly Derrick, and Oil City Semi-Weekly Derrick (Newspaper)
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections Newspaper Oil City, Pa.
Publication Date: 1880-1954 (daily); 1889-1892; 1916-1927 (weekly); 1892-1916 (semi-weekly)
Coverage varies on microfilm and in print. Check library catalog at: https://sshelco-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/search?vid=STLIBPA&lang=en_US
Souvenir of the Oil City Derrick: Illustrating the City of Oil City, Pennsylvania, in the Year 1896 by Derrick Publishing Company
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections Newspaper Oil City, Pa.
Publication Date: 1896
The domain of oil and gas: An industrial number, Saturday December 15, 1917, supplement to the Oil City Derrick. by Derrick Publishing Company
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections Newspapers
Publication Date: 1917
Atlas of the Oil Region of Pennsylvania by F.W. Beers
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections Flat 553.282 B392a 1865
Publication Date: 1865
Map of Oil Regions of Western Pennsylvania and Portions of Eastern Ohio, New York and West Virginia by Smith, Horace, pub.
Call Number: State Library Rare Collections 553.282 Sm58m
Publication Date: 1864

Read About the Drake Oil Well Museum

Drake Well Museum and Park by Jon Sherman; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Staff (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9780811729604
Publication Date: 2002-09-01
Find out the full story of the discovery of oil in Titusville
Pennsylvania's Historic Places by R. Seitz
ISBN: 0934672768
Publication Date: 1989-06-01
A little bit about each of the Historic sites throughout Pennsylvania including the Drake Oil Well Museum

Drake Oil Well Museum
Visit the place where it all started!

Learn More About oil discovery in Pennsylvania for students

coloring page of an oil field
Postcard from Titusville
Picture of the Oil well at the first place that oil was discovered

History of Oil Creek State Park
page of the history of the discovery of oil by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)
Ice and Oil Shape the Land
The geology behind why there was oil at Titusville.
Explore Oil Creek State Park
pictures of the Pennsylvania State Park that is on the creek where oil was discovered

Researching the oil industry at the State Library and other library catalogs

The following subject headings and/or keyword searches may help you locate materials about the oil industry in Pennsylvania using the State Library catalog or your local library catalog.

Petroleum -- Pennsylvania -- History.
Petroleum -- Pennsylvania -- Pictorial works.
Petroleum industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- History.
Petroleum industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Pictorial works.
Petroleum.
Petroleum industry and trade.
Oil wells -- Pennsylvania
Drake, Edwin Laurentine, 1819-1880.
Mather, John Aked, 1829-1915.
Oil City (Pa.) -- History.
Titusville (Pa.) -- History