History In Our Backyard- Oil City, Pennsylvania 

Hello to Oil City and Titusville. My family owned and operated an oil farm near Titusville and my aunt Jean was born and raised there. She also worked for the forest service at a fire tower atop one of the mountains. Our family had a hunting cabin there and was famous for my 4 uncles and the deer that they were able to harvest each year, their picture appeard in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette one year. If anyone remembers them: Stritzinger then I would like to say hello. I grew up running around in the forest and fishing there.

A fun note for m is that derrick from where Bud Pelaghi narrates is a triangle of ground that once was owned by my family, the Simons and the Stantons on Main Street, before reconstruction in the early 1960s. The tunnel is closed at that end where Bud stands. We lived next to the tunnel and the depot.

Another interesting fact about Oil City- the engines that powered Henry Ford's plant came from Oil City- the Riverside Engine Company, when it was owned and managed by Edward Gray. Gray later moved to Highland Park and became Ford's chief engineer at the plant that made cars affordable for almost anyone. Gray laid out the plans for the Highland Park plant and Albert Kahn designed a building around it. In his short bio in the publication, "City of Detroit", it mentions Gray's connection with Riverside Engine but doesn't list its location. If you search, though, you'll find it in Oil City. My grandfather worked for Edward Gray and joined him in Detroit in 1910, then left Ford with Gray and worked with him at Detroit Edison for a while before returning to Pennsylvania. Again in 1937 he went back to Detroit at Gray's request and worked in a private office with Gray and Gar Wood, the famous speed boat builder and racer. books.google.com/books?id=10YzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA868&lpg=PA868&dq=city+of+detroit,+%22edward+gray%22+ford&source=bl&ots=hYhg5EtXV0&sig=MCOJj-eTYcxii72q4FsPwVC6R80&hl=en&sa=X&ei=w8w_Va2nO4OqyAS36oDgCA&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=city%20of%20detroit%2C%20%22edward%20gray%22%20ford&f=false

Very interesting stuff. Mildly ironic to have squeaky machinery operating an oil-pump :-)

I would recommend coming to my back yard in Burning Springs WV. The Rathbones who founded Exxon got their start here who's first well came in about same time as Drakes in 1859. We here always tend to get left out of the history of oil. Yet the fields here played for most part a far more important role in the exspanse of the industry.

Great work! Thank you!

Rest in Peace William Huber March 14, 1941 - December 18, 2017

Thank you for sharing this video. So interesting to see the way it used to be.

This was awesome! I just did a road trip across Pennsylvania and noticed the Oil City sign, so was checking it out online. Great info, I'm going back to see the museum asap!

The Rathbone well is the oldest producing well in West Virginia.

My father was born 1901 and worked as a pipefitter. Rouseville pa

greetings from Philadelphia

My ancestors managed McGovern well #2 on their farm in Halyday Run.

I traveled down route 8 and gone thru Titusville and by Pit Hole witch John Wilkes Booth had a oil well.

all the historic videos need sub-titles! so we can share our glorioUS past-lives with the rest of the invesTories.

Man, I wish someone would grease that pump head. That huge squeak isn't cute.

Bucket list might have to move it up higher because it's priority . Very important place.

Where might I find a better/longer copy of this video?

great video, you did an awsome job. though am curious, where did you get your excerpt of oil on the brain? it's a great copy.

What is the name of this song?

Okay question. at the end you show the massive 17? well mechanical power supply. He says its not running on gas at the moment so then what was powering it while it was running during the filming, water? didnt hear any engine sound at all so water only thing might be since its a not 'self sustaining' power unit.

This video needs remastering. I'm assuming this was filmed on magnetic tape instead of 35mm film. The cool thing about 35mm film is it is comparable to today's High Definition video.

the first oil well in Canada was in 1858

I live in oil city pa

Rockefeller never smoked from a pipe.

I went to Drake's Well on a field trip. I got some oil but I lost it. I had a grape soda wrapped in timfoil. I guess my mom thought the tinfoil would keep it cold. No such luck! Hey! I don't know if they still do it anymore but if'n ya want the real shit cherry coke, stop into the Famore's! Hope they still gots comic books!

"Native Americans gathered the oil to use as medicine." NO, no no.....'fracking' did that.