A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History: March 10 – 16
March 11, 1829 - Kentucky Salt Well Driller discovers Oil - Boring for brine with a simple spring-pole method on a farm near Burkesville, Kentucky, Martin Beatty found oil at a depth of 171 feet. Disappointed, he searched elsewhere. Beatty drilled brine wells to meet...
This Week in Petroleum History: March 3 – 9
March 3, 1879 - United States Geological Survey established - President Rutherford B. Hayes signed legislation creating the United States Geological Survey (USGS) within the Department of the Interior. The legislation resulted from a report by the National Academy of...
This Week in Petroleum History, Feb. 24 – March 2
February 24, 1938 - First Nylon Bristle Toothbrush - The Weco Products Company of Chicago, Illinois, “Dr. West’s Miracle-Tuft” toothbrush went on sale – the first to use synthetic nylon developed three years earlier by a former Harvard professor working at a DuPont...
This Week in Petroleum History, February 17 – 23
February 17, 1902 - Lufkin Industries founded in East Texas - The Lufkin Foundry and Machine Company was founded in Lufkin, Texas, as a repair shop for railroad and sawmill machinery. When the pine region's timber supplies began to dwindle, the company discovered new...
This Week in Petroleum History, February 10 – 16
February 10, 1910 - Giant Oilfield discovered in California - Honolulu Oil Corporation discovered the Buena Vista oilfield in Kern County, California. The well, originally known as "Honolulu's Great Gasser," drilled deep into oil-producing sands for production of...
This Week in Petroleum History, February 3 – 9
February 3, 1868 - Refiners seek End Civil to War Tax - Angry refiners from Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, met in Petroleum Center and passed a resolution demanding an end to then U.S. "war tax" of one dollar per 42-gallon barrel of refined petroleum products, including...
This Week in Petroleum History, January 27 – February 2
January 28, 1921 - "Vaseline Well" erupts in Oklahoma - After reaching a depth of 3,710 feet, drillers of the W.C. Newman well near Lamar, Oklahoma, "hit into a strata of oil, the like of which never before, nor since has been found," reported the Daily Oklahoman in...
This Week in Petroleum History, January 20 – 26
January 20, 1886 - Great Karg Well erupts Natural Gas in Ohio - A well drilled for oil near Findlay, Ohio, erupted natural gas flowing at 12 million cubic feet per day from pressure that could not be controlled by technologies of the day. The "Great Karg Well" ignited...
This Week in Petroleum History, January 13 – 19
January 14, 1928 - Dr. Seuss begins illustrating Standard Oil Ads - New York City’s Judge magazine published its first cartoon drawn by Theodor Seuss Geisel -- who would develop his skills as "Dr. Seuss" while working for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. In the...
This Week in Petroleum History, January 6 – 12
January 7, 1864 - Oilfield Discovery at Pithole Creek - The once famous Pithole Creek oilfield was discovered in Pennsylvania with the United States Petroleum Company's well reportedly located using a witch-hazel dowser. The discovery well, which initially produced...
History of oil and Gas
Subscribe for Updates
Stay up to date with our latest articles about petroleum history and modern energy education programs by receiving our monthly email newsletter, "Oil & Gas History News."