Petrolia-1874 Looking East |
Petrolia-1874 Looking West |
A number of interesting events occurred to establish Petrolia as a prominent oil town: The Oil Springs oil boom had ended, King had brought in his Petrolia well, a rail spur was completed to Petrolia in 1866, and the American Civil War had ended.
Petrolia started out as a rough and tumble oil town reminescent of the old "goldrush" towns. Gary May, in his book Hard Oiler! describes early Petrolia best, "In its early days, Petrolia was known as smelly and oil-smeared, loud and uncouth. But as the young Canadian oil business began to mature, so did Petrolia. Soon it had shed its veneer of transience, its odour of impermanence...Petrolia began to take on the aura of a community that would stay. At its zenith in the 1890s, it would be known as the most significant manufacturing town in the Dominion." p.59 |
 Petrolia Flats circa 1900
 Centre Street Oil Fields |
Bear Creek |
Pyramid of Barrels |
Canadian Oil Refinery
1905 |
Van Tuyl & Fairbank
1930 |
Grand Trunk Railway
1905 |
Petrolia Fire Department |
Petrolia Ambulance
Built by Petrolia Wagon Company |
Imperial Oil Office |
Town Hall 1908 |
Fairbank House
"Sunnyside" |
Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital
Former Englehart Residence "Glenview" |
English Residence |
Kerr House
"Nemo Hall" |
Victoria Playhouse 1990s
Restored after Fire |
Follow this link to The Petrolia Discovery |