Welcome back to the PA abandoned places bucket list! This week, we’re going to talk about Oil Creek State Park. Located in Venango County, this site is known as the “Valley that Changed the World.”

In 1859, Colonel Edwin Drake found a large amount of oil in the area that is now Oil Creek State Park, and the location of his well is largely credited to be the creation site of the world’s commercial petroleum industry.

In its prime, Oil Creek State Park had several boomtowns, thanks to the sudden prosperity brought about by the land’s resources, as well as several important well sites.

Both of these features, however are no longer present today. Instead, nature has been allowed to reclaim this land, replacing them with trout-filled streams and lush flora (Tungsten).

Today, Oil Creek State Park has an abundance of activities for visitors to enjoy ranging from hiking trails to scenic views.

For starters, the Drake Well museum is a place to learn about the rich history of this location and its role in the development of the petroleum industry, as well as its both positive and negative impacts on the world (About).

Additionally, there are several trails visitors can traverse and see remnants of the former boomtowns of the region, such as Petroleum Centre, which lasted only seven years.

Walking the Petroleum Centre trail, some of the only structural evidence that there had been a town there previously are the steps leading to what used to be a bank, as most buildings were not permanent and were torn down as oil was discovered.

Another interesting feature of this park is Miller Falls, one of this location’s four waterfalls. This particular one is said to be the most easily accessible, and visitors can even see old oil equipment near its sides.

For those less inclined to explore Oil Creek State Park in the immersive way that traveling on foot requires, there is also the Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad. Riders of this train are able to see beautiful scenery along the 13.5 mile journey and learn about the park’s history from guides.

The final trail I’m going to mention leads to the Blood Farm Day Use Area and gives visitors the most in-depth look at the history of Oil Creek State Park. Those who walk the half-mile trail will see old oil equipment and have the chance to learn more about the site from informative signs along the way (Cheney).

While this site is a state park and not technically abandoned, the remnants of this location’s history are nonetheless would still be extremely interesting to see!

Works Cited

About the Park, friendsocsp.org/aboutus/about-park.html#:~:text=The%20primary%20purpose%20of%20Oil,the%20world’s%20commercial%20oil%20industry.

Cheney, Jim. “11 Awesome Things to Do in Oil Creek State Park.” Uncovering PA, 28 Apr. 2020, uncoveringpa.com/things-to-do-oil-creek-state-park.

[atomic74.com], Tungsten. “About Us.” About Us | Drake Well Museum, www.drakewell.org/about-us.