Oil City in Venango County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Oil Well Supply

Photographed by Richard Peterson, October 14, 2026

1. Oil Well Supply Marker

Inscription. Oil Well Supply was a prosperous and expansive Oil City company that supplied equipment and machinery to oil and gas drillers and producers around the world.

The company origins date to 1861 when New York resident John Eaton came to the Oil Valley to determine if there was support for an equipment supplier. After a series of small partnerships, the enterprise featured manufacturing plants and stores throughout the oil region.

The business was consolidated in 1878 into Oil Well Supply with Eaton as President, E. T. Howes as Treasurer and Kenton Chickering as Secretary.

Rapid expansion of the business prompted the Oil Well Supply owners to purchase the former Imperial Refinery in Oil City's Siverly area in 1900. Chickering was put in charge of the works.

Within two decades, the company’s Imperial Works would be the world's largest single factory devoted exclusively to oil and gas machinery and equipment. The plant stretched over 44 acres, boasted 37 buildings and 1,700 employees by the 1950s.

Oil Well Supply produced more than 1,000 products from engines to couplings, pipes, sucker rods, pumping jacks and more. It was

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

a key producer of munitions during World War II.

Photo captions:
– Oil Well Supply’s employment topped the 2,000 mark at various times during the company’s long history in Oil City. The employee ranks included office workers, welders, machinists, engineers and others who produced more than 1,000 different types of products.
– The Imperial Works of the Oil Well Supply featured a string of brick multi-story buildings that stretched along the Allegheny River at Siverly. Oil Well was a major regional employer and traffic from the plant as shifts changed would snarl downtown Oil City traffic for a brief time.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1862.

Location. 41° 25.972′ N, 79° 42.458′ W. Marker is in Oil City, Pennsylvania, in Venango County. It is at the intersection of Elm Street and Seneca Street, on the left when traveling north on Elm Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5 Elm Street, Oil City PA 16301, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Photographed by Richard Peterson, October 14, 2026

2. Oil Well Supply Marker

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Oil Well Supply Company (here, next to this marker); Cornplanter (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); In Memory of Cornplanter (about 400 feet away); Jacob J. Vandergrift (about 500 feet away); In Commemoration of the Gift (about 500 feet away); Charles Lockhart (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Cornplanter (about 600 feet away); Patrick C. Boyle (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oil City.

Photographed by Richard Peterson, October 14, 2026

3. Oil Well Supply Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 14, 2026, by Richard Peterson of East Windsor, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 14, 2026, by Richard Peterson of East Windsor, New Jersey. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.