Wharfs & Steamboats

Wharfs & Steamboats

…point in 1868. The pipeline relegated the teamster and his team back to the farm or to the ordinary uses of trade and traffic. It required but a brief time…

ORLA Newsletter Archive

…shaped by marginalized groups in a centuries-long fight for the freedom to read. This month, learn more about the origins of the modern book club, as well as some upcoming…

A Historic Anniversary

use in foreign fields where climate made the use of wooden derricks impractical. According to an Oilwell history, Culbertson married a Russian girl and they raised three children. One of…

History

…Public Library from the Franklin Library Association and entered into a long-term lease agreement with the City of Franklin to become the first branch of ORLA. The Franklin Public Library…

State Street Bridge

State Street Bridge

…feet long and 18 feet wide. At the time, it was the longest bridge over any part of the Allegheny River. The Oil City and Petroleum Bridge opened to the…

Maybe She’s Born With It

Maybe She’s Born With It

…of other uses besides lubrication and fuel. Robert A. Chesebrough, a young chemist, left Titusville in 1865 for a lab in New York. He was tasked with experimenting how the…

Ducks and Roses

Ducks and Roses

…duck farm soon boasted homes, brooder houses, barns, ice houses, feed barns, dairy barns, silos, sheds, garages and more. About 50 employees lived in houses on the farm property. Family…

From Oil to Oz

From Oil to Oz

…room, saw a label “O-Z” on a filing cabinet and said the kingdom was known as Oz. This 1891 advertisement, published in The Syracuse, New York city directory, promoted the…

Siverly

Siverly

…five grocers, St. Charles Hotel, a junk dealer, Florence Trax’s meat market, a hardware store, the Imperial Band headquarters, a barber, four boarding houses, a boot/shoemaker, three carpenters, two churches…

Early Theaters

Early Theaters

…cultural offerings. The theater spaces ranged from leased floors in a few buildings along Seneca Street to cavernous auditoriums replete with ornate decorations and state-of-the-art theater effects. Taking top billings…