The sizzling oil patch was home to scores of notable men and women in the early history of the region. Two of those area residents claimed unusual fame as a result of their notoriety. And they were women. Anna Martha Bender, daughter of German immigrants, was a recluse known for her unconventional way of life and possible association with a famous Colorado gang of outlaws. She lived in a shack
While many Oil City residents have achieved high recognition as well as earned enormous wealth, others have shared ties with those individuals who had both fame and money. Henry H. Rogers Born in 1840 in Massachusetts, Henry Huttleson Rogers worked a series of odd jobs as a young man but was soon intrigued by the excitement in the new oil fields of western Pennsylvania. In 1861 Rogers, 21, met up
Grove Hill Cemetery, a sprawling graveyard on Oil City’s North Side, was dedicated in June 1871. Stories relating to the people buried there offer a keen glimpse into the city’s early and illustrious history. A September 2023 cemetery walk, one of several held over the years by the Oil City Heritage Society, focused on a number of men and women who lived, worked, raised families, offered charitable and civic assistance
An Oil City resident didn’t have to walk far to shop for groceries in the mid-1950s as dozens of stores, both large and small, were scattered throughout the community. While there were a few nationally known grocery store chain outlets in town, the majority of the stores were small and family-owned. Most of the smaller stores were known by their proprietors’ names – Venturella, Snyder’s, Bagnato’s, Kellner’s and many more.
Many Oil City women have left their marks on the nation’s history. Two city women – Lois Brundred and Elizabeth Reid – served the country as health professionals overseas in World War II. A pair of city women – Helen Weaver Oxenham and Ruth Crawford Culver – were honored by a national organization for their bravery in saving a young Oil City boy. Elizabeth Dunbar Reid Elizabeth Reid, daughter of
In its bustling beginnings, Oil City offered an enormous array of social, benevolent, recreational and service organizations for its residents. Many of those clubs and groups aligned themselves with specific causes while others existed purely for social purposes. There were labor organizations, professional societies, literary and musical clubs, religious groups and others. The titles chosen by those who came together ranged from the direct – the Winifred Tonkin Branch of
Oil City’s sizzling hustle and bustle as a result of the region’s early petroleum industry drew conveniences unheard of in similar small communities throughout the U.S. – public utilities. Residents and businesses throughout the city, as well as outlying areas, would benefit from natural gas energy lines, telephone and telegraph services, electricity and television cable long before such utilities were available elsewhere. All of it stemmed from the needs of
The City of Oil City was booming in the mid-1950s. The population was listed as 18,500-plus residents while the jobs sector ranged from major U.S. companies such as Jones & Laughlin Steel, U.S. Steel, Continental Can, Koppers and Worthington to dozens of small shops and professional offices. The community boasted three hotels, three motion picture theaters, a 175-bed hospital, eight public schools, a busy railroad system and much more. Included
The Oil City Library, one of 1,412 public libraries built in the United States more than a century ago by Pittsburgh philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, is an imposing and magnificent building on Oil City’s South Side. It opened to the public as the Carnegie Library of Oil City on July 6, 1904, with much hoopla, pride and enthusiasm. One of its most intriguing and elaborate spaces, though, has been empty and
The Allegheny River was a prime transportation route for all manner of goods for more than 200 years. The original river traffic focused on cut timber that was loaded in communities up and down the river and sent south to the larger cities, especially Pittsburgh, to meet consumers’ needs. Then came the iron ore industry that shuttled iron from the region’s many iron furnaces to smelting operations downriver. Barges laden