Regions
Oil Heritage District
Before there was OPEC and nylons, Iran and Alberta there was Petrolia and Oil Springs located in the heart of Lambton County in the Oil Heritage District.
A collection of shacks in Petrolia in the 1860's became a place of brick and industry by the 1890's. By 1893, Petrolia was the major supplier of crude and petroleum products of Canada, and it was the strongest town economically in the young dominion. The magnificent architecture of the public buildings and churches, including the recently restored Victoria Hall, and the stately elegance of many homes, pay tribute to the wealth of this town at the turn of the century. Today, oil is still pumped in Petrolia and Oil Springs fields by a central power plant, with jerker rods reaching out to each well, just as it was 100 years ago.
At Petrolia such a field comprising 60 acres has been set-aside as a living museum: a major historic, recreational and educational exhibit called Petrolia Discovery. Oil wells are still being restored and visitors can see crude oil as it is being drawn from the ground. The Petrolia Discovery honours the untold stories of those Canadian pioneers who struggled to control a resource but were too late to stop it from slipping through their fingers. Here, visitors will find the workshop and training ground of the men who went into the town over 100 years ago to create what became one of the world's largest industries, the oil industry.
Lambton County's Oil Museum of Canada, a national historic site, is located in the Village of Oil Springs. It is the site of the first commercial oil well in North America, the first gusher, and the world's first oil exchange. The Museum provides special events and exhibitions intermittently throughout the year. It was also in Oil Springs that the first street in Canada was lit with kerosene.
In 1866, when Oil Springs "dried up", the population decreased dramatically, almost overnight, as the oil drillers moved to Petrolia and took the entire town with them. The Petrolia boom lasted approximately 30 years.
When the boom ended, Canada was in the forefront of oil drilling technology, which was much in demand as the world's major oil fields were opening up. The oilmen, "Hard Oilers", traveled around the world with the new technology to the Gobi, the Arctic, Persia, Indonesia, Australia and Russia. All together, they traveled to 87 countries.
Road signage, designating the Oil Heritage District, is found on Highway 402 and the Oil Heritage Road, which extends south from the 402, assisting travelers to uncover this incredible piece of Canadian history.
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