Cornplanter Township near Pleasantville in Venango County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Pithole City Vanishes
Historic Pithole City
Photographed by Richard Peterson, October 14, 2026
1. Pithole City Vanishes Marker
Oil production fell below 1,000 barrels a day, and the population dwindled to 280 people in 1870. After 7 years, the borough charter was annulled, and land once valued at $2 million was purchased by the Venango County Commissioners for $4.37 in 1878.
Discouraged leaseholders abandoned their lots and did not rebuild. Other buildings were moved to neighboring towns or torn down and sold as lumber.
James B. Stevenson gave 90 acres of the city to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1963, and the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission opened a visitors center in 1975.
Captions:
– Oil wells on fire on the flats, 1865 (DW21)
– Pithole City, c. 1895 (DW1581)
Erected 2026 by Friends of Drake Well, Inc.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is April 7, 1866.
Location. 41° 31.407′ N, 79° 34.822′ W. Marker is near Pleasantville,
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Northwestern Pennsylvania. 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 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Photographers (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Boomed and Gone (about 300 feet away); Civil War Soldiers (about 300 feet away); Pithole City (about 500 feet away); Pithole (about 700 feet away); First Oil Pipeline (approx. 2 miles away); a different marker also named Pithole (approx. 2 miles away); Humboldt Refinery
Photographed by Richard Peterson, October 14, 2026
2. Pithole City Vanishes Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 31, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 22, 2026, by Richard Peterson of East Windsor, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 18 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 22, 2026, by Richard Peterson of East Windsor, New Jersey. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
