Petrolia in Lambton County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
The Founding of Petrolia
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 12, 2014
1. The Founding of Petrolia Marker
Inscription.
The Founding of Petrolia. . Following the discovery of oil at Oil Springs in 1857 prospectors extended their search to the entire township of Enniskillen. At the site of Petrolia, which contained two small settlements with post offices named Durance and Ennis, a well was brought into production in 1860. The following year a small refinery was opened and the Durance post office renamed “Petrolea.” At first, eclipsed by Oil Springs, the community developed slowly. But in 1865-66 a series of discoveries culminating in the drilling of the King well established Petrolia as a major oil producing centre in Canada and its population soared from about 300 to some 2,300. Incorporated as the village of Petrolia in 1866, it became a town on January 1, 1874.
Following the discovery of oil at Oil Springs in 1857 prospectors extended their search to the entire township of Enniskillen. At the site of Petrolia, which contained two small settlements with post offices named Durance and Ennis, a well was brought into production in 1860. The following year a small refinery was opened and the Durance post office renamed “Petrolea.” At first, eclipsed by Oil Springs, the community developed slowly. But in 1865-66 a series of discoveries culminating in the drilling of the King well established Petrolia as a major oil producing centre in Canada and its population soared from about 300 to some 2,300. Incorporated as the village of Petrolia in 1866, it became a town on January 1, 1874.
Erected by Archaeological and Historic Sites Board, Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
is in Petrolia, Ontario, in Lambton County. It is on Greenfield Street close to Petrolia Line, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 405 Greenfield Street, Petrolia ON N0N, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Southwest Ontario Area and in Southwestern Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts Land.
The marker is located on the far right. The building is Victoria Hall.
to the far reaches of the world (Gobi Desert, Arctic, Iran, Indonesia, USA, Australia, Russia, and over 80 other countries) teaching others how to find and extract crude oil. (Submitted on October 31, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 792 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 31, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
