Union Township near Union City in Erie County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Drake Well Park

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, April 20, 2013

1. Drake Well Park Marker

Inscription. Near Titusville. The Park and Museum are owned by the State. On the site Col. Edwin Drake struck oil Aug. 27, 1859, marking the birth of the petroleum industry. Historical and museum material center.

Erected 1946 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1797.

Location. 41° 53.376′ N, 79° 50.83′ W. Marker is near Union City, Pennsylvania, in Erie County. It is in Union Township. It is on North Main Street (Pennsylvania Route 8) 0.1 miles south of Meadville Road (U.S. 6), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Union City PA 16438, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northwestern Pennsylvania

and in Greater Erie. It is also in the American Northeast,

on the Great Lakes,

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 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: "Union City Seats the World" (approx. 0.6 miles away); French Creek — Power, Destruction and Beauty (approx. 0.6 miles away); Furniture Manufacturing (approx. 0.6 miles away); Union City's Early Historic Architecture (approx. 0.7 miles away); Union City Historic District (approx. 0.7 miles away); Fort Le Boeuf

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(approx. 7.8 miles away); George Washington (approx. 7.8 miles away); Site of Fort Le Boeuf (approx. 7.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Union City.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Ida M. Tarbell (was approx. 5.2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . . Drake Well Museum. (Submitted on June 2, 2014, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.)

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, April 20, 2013

2. Drake Well Park Marker

Library of Congress, June 29, 2019

3. Drake Well

“A reconstruction of the namesake well at Drake’s Well Museum and Park outside Titusville, Pennsylvania. The facility interprets the birth of the American oil industry in 1859 by ‘Colonel’ Edwin Drake along the banks of Oil Creek in Cherrytree Township, Venango County, and collects and displays historical artifacts. The Drake Well reconstruction demonstrates the first practical use of salt drilling techniques for the extraction of petroleum through an oil well.” -- Library of Congress
Photo by Carol Highsmith

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 20, 2013, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 704 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 20, 2013, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on October 18, 2020, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.