George Bissell. An attorney & oil industry pioneer, in 1854 with J.G. Eveleth, he purchased the Hibbard Farm, future site of Drake Well. Later that year, they organized Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co., America's first oil corporation. Bissell, with partners, also developed Petroleum Centre & United Petroleum Farms at Oil City.
Corner of Liberty & S Park Sts. in South Park, near co. courthouse, Franklin, PA, United States
Galena-Signal Oil Company. Founded 1865. Under the leadership of Charles Miller & Joseph Sibley, it produced high - quality lubricants used by most U.S. railroads. Purchased 1878 by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, which used Galena-Signal products to gain dominance over area railroads and a virtual monopoly of the U.S. oil industry. Independent after the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911. Absorbed 1931 by Valvoline. Headquarters located here, 1901-1931.
1140 Liberty St., near co. courthouse, Franklin, PA, United States
Fort Venango. To assert control over the area, Fort Venango was built near this point by the British in 1760. The fort was attacked and destroyed by Indians in 1763 during Pontiac's uprising.
Elk St. and 8th St. (US 322), Franklin, PA, United States
Fort Machault. Built by the French in 1756 to guard the route to the Ohio, it was evacuated and burned by them after the siege and fall of Fort Niagara in 1759. Site of fort is one block south.
Elk St. & 8th St. (US 322), Franklin, PA, United States
Fort Franklin. Site just west of here. Built in 1787 by U.S. troops under Captain Heart. First American fort in the region and base for protecting northwestern Pennsylvania's early settlements.
13th St. (U.S. 322) & Franklin Ave., Franklin, PA, United States
Samuel C. T. Dodd (1837-1907). General solicitor of Standard Oil, 1881-1905, and author of the Standard Oil Trust Agreement (1882). The agreement led to the company's dominance of the industry and served as a model for other trusts. A Franklin native, his early law office was located here.
1247 Liberty St. near Pennsylvania Alley, Franklin, PA, United States
Venango County. Formed March 12, 1800 out of Allegheny and Lycoming counties. The name (an Indian term) refers to French Creek. Franklin, county seat, was laid out in 1795. It became a city in 1868, as did Oil City in 1871. At Drake Well the oil industry was born, 1859.
County Courthouse, 12th & Liberty Sts., Franklin, PA, United States
Old Garrison. Built in 1796 to replace Fort Franklin. The site at the foot of Tenth Street is now under water. It commanded both French Creek and the Allegheny River. Occupied by U.S. troops until 1799, it was later the first jail of Venango County.
10th & Liberty Sts. (on U.S. 322), Franklin, PA, United States
Johnny Appleseed. John Chapman, an actual person as well as a folk hero, lived nearby along French Creek between 1797 and 1804. Records indicate he had a nursery there and one near Warren, Pa., before moving on to Ohio. Born 1774 in Massachusetts, he died in Indiana, 1845.
13th St. (U.S. 322) & Franklin Ave., Franklin, PA, United States