Downtown in Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Refining Crude Oil

Samuel Kier's Still

— Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania —

Refining Crude Oil Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 1, 2015

1. Refining Crude Oil Marker

Inscription. Near this site in the 1850s Samuel Kier constructed a cast-iron distillation unit for refining crude oil. Kier's one-barrel still produced kerosene, a clean burning lamp fuel. Later, Kier built a five-barrel still and invented a lamp that minimized smoke and odor. Kier's refining process touched off the search for more dependable sources of crude oil, which led to the drilling of the nation's first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. These two technologies-refining and drilling-made western Pennsylvania the undisputed center of the early oil industry.

Erected 2009 by American Chemical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce.

Location. 40° 26.522′ N, 79° 59.692′ W. Marker is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from the intersection of Seventh Street and Grant Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pittsburgh PA 15219, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Ohio River Valley,

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: Gulf Building (within shouting distance of this marker); First English Evangelical Lutheran Church (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Strawberry Way (about 400 feet away); Kier Refinery (about 400 feet away);

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Allegheny HYP Club (Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club) (about 500 feet away); Mark W. Melcher Memorial (about 600 feet away); Founding Convention of the AFL (about 700 feet away); Smithfield Congregational Church (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pittsburgh.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 1, 2015

2. Refining Crude Oil Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 1, 2015, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 695 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 1, 2015, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.