![]() Visitors can see replicas of the Drake Well and other historical artifacts and even catch a glimpse of how the oil field machinery used to operate! The museum was designed to educate audiences about the creation of the first oil well, its inventor, and the subsequent boom of the nationwide oil industry. Pennsylvania decided to honor Drake and his impact by constructing the Drake Well Museum on the 240-acre site encompassing the land he used for the well. The Drake Well may not have lasted long, but its legacy certainly hasn’t been forgotten. It only took a couple of years until, unfortunately, the Drake Well shut down in 1861. The well produced around 25 barrels of oil every day in the beginning, but this quickly diminished to about 12 to 20 barrels. Titusville was his chosen drilling location at the request of Seneca Oil Company, likely because of the town’s proximity to Oil Creek.ĭespite introducing America to the concept of oil drilling and becoming the first well to produce commercial amounts of oil, the Drake Well did not last and was ultimately unprofitable. He wound up implementing an iron pipe in the process to keep the bore intact, allowing him to extract oil on a continuous basis. We’ll expand more on his inventions later, but for now, it’s worth noting that none of the standard techniques used by previous drillers worked, so Drake had to find unique ways to drill. The Drake Well was almost 70 feet deep and drilled using new methods invented by Drake himself. However, despite the pessimism surrounding the venture, Drake pushed ahead and continued reinventing the wheel to try new drilling oil methods.įinally, approximately six months after being hired for this project, Drake succeeded in striking oil with Smith’s help, establishing what is now known as the Drake Well. In fact, Drake had so many problems getting started that in the eye of the public, the well went from a promising new venture to a disaster that they called “Drake’s Folly.” However, the man people had taken to calling “Crazy Drake” would be proven right in a short time as his oil well successfully produced the sought-after substance.ĭrake faced so much pressure from others during the period prior to striking oil that nearly everyone lost faith in him, including his main driller, William Smith. Hired by Seneca Oil Company to drill for oil, Drake faced a plethora of setbacks for over five months, including unforeseen expenditures and logistical issues with the drilling itself. Titusville’s oil well was drilled on August 27, 1859, after much struggle and toil by innovator Edwin L. The town’s convenient location played a significant part in setting it up to be the prime spot for the first oil well in the US. Titusville is in Crawford County, and the original well location (there is a marker ) is south in Venango County, but Oil Creek flows through both Crawford and Venango counties. This little town is in the aptly named Oil Creek Valley region, where oil consistently flowed in the streams along the river banks. ![]() Titusville, PA – The Birthplace of America’s Oil WellsĪmerica’s first oil well was drilled just south of Titusville, Pennsylvania. Below, we’ll tell you all about how skeptics thought Drake was a madman for his attempt and how Titusville made history. The ups and downs of Drake’s discovery are sure to captivate any reader, and most don’t know about what took place. The story behind how this first oil well was drilled is filled with fascinating details. This well marked the beginning of today’s booming oil industry, paving the way for untold amounts of oil wells to be drilled all over the country. The first oil well in the US was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania, on August 27, 1859, by a man named Edwin L. We can clearly see the impact that oil wells have had on us in many ways today, but most people don’t know how the business began. Boatloads of money have been made all over the United States wherever people have found extractable oil underground. America and oil have gone hand-in-hand for nearly two centuries, fueling our economy as well as the vehicles we use to get around every day. ![]()
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