307 South Park St. PO Box 101 Franklin, PA 16323 814-432-8260 vchistory2019@gmail.com
Venango County Historical Society
Atlas of the Oil Region
The Cities, Oil Creek and Cherry Run
PO Box 101 307 South Park Street Franklin, Pennsylvania 16323
The Cities, Oil Creek and Cherry Run
The Atlas of the Oil Region of Pennsylvania was published in 1865 by F.W. Beers, A.D. Ellis and G.G. Soule. The detailed maps of each of the two larger cities in Venango County - Oil City and Franklin - and the Oil Creek and Cherry Run maps show individual properties and the locations of each of the many petroleum-based companies - a new industry that was established in the Oil Region as a result of Colonel Edwin L. Drake's discovery of a way to pump oil out of the ground.
This map shows the southern part of Oil Creek where it flows through Oil City and into the Allegheny River. The first settlers here in 1803 were Francis and Sarah Horth Haladay, and their son, James, was the first white child to be born here on January 13, 1809. Oil City was the site of several iron furnaces and related business until the the discovery of oil, and then it boomed. It was incorporated in 1871, and became home to several major oil companies, including Pennzoil and Standard Oil.
Oil Creek Township was formed in 1866. The first to settle here were Andrew and Daniel Fleming in 1795, and Samuel Gregg came in 1799. Others were James Miller and John Lytle, a native of Ireland. Abraham Lovell, Aaron Benedict, Austin Merrick and William Porter were early residents of Pleasantville. This map shows the middle section of Oil Creek, with the Village of McClintockville and the borough of Rouseville.
Cherry Run flows through Cornplanter Township and empties into Oil Creek at Rouseville. This map shows the Village of Plumer, as well and the farms and oil companies that lie along the run.
This map shows the southern part of Oil Creek where it flows through Oil City and into the Allegheny River. The first settlers here in 1803 were Francis and Sarah Horth Haladay, and their son, James, was the first white child to be born here on January 13, 1809. Oil City was the site of several iron furnaces and related business until the the discovery of oil, and then it boomed. It was incorporated in 1871, and became home to several major oil companies, including Pennzoil and Standard Oil.