International Petroleum Exposition
The International Petroleum Exposition was founded at Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1923 providing a display to the world of the latest in equipment, operational ideas and practices used in the petroleum and related industries.
When the first exposition was held it was a street bazaar type of show with equipment displays valued at $100,000. By the time of the sixteenth exhibition in 1971 it had grown to include more than five hundred of the world's leading manufacturers, services and supply companies. The exhibits were valued at more than one billion dollars.
The International Petroleum Exposition introduced many innovations in equipment such as the steel derrick and fostered foreign trade by promoting exports of oil equipment, thus influencing other countries in developing their own petroleum resources.
L. B. Jackson, an independent oilman, was the first president of the Exposition. The second was W. G. Skelly, founder of Skelly Oil Company, who presided over the International Petroleum Exposition for thirty-two years. W. K. Warren, founder of Warren Petroleum Corporation, served as president for ten years.
Others who have served
this page online
Erected 1971 by Oklahoma Historical Society and Oklahoma Petroleum Council.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features. In addition, it is included in the Oklahoma Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1923.
Location. 36° 8.037′ N, 95° 55.88′ W. Marker is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in Tulsa County. Marker is on 21st Street, on the right when traveling west. Marker is at the entrance to the River Spirit Expo Building, on the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4145 East 21st Street, Tulsa OK 74112, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Replica of the Statue of Liberty (approx. half a mile away); Auto Dealerships (approx. one mile away); Wolf Robe Hunt's Indian Trading Post (approx. 1.1 miles away); Expo Square (approx. 1.1 miles away); Pearls Along the Route 66 Highway (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Fabric of a Community (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Era of World War II (approx. 1.1 miles away); The American Milkman (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tulsa.
Also see . . . International Petroleum Exposition. (Submitted on December 14, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 24, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 14, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 275 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 14, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 4. submitted on December 14, 2017.
