The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Trail 41.61563, -79.65866
Monday, July 15, 2024
Oil Creek State Park Trail
The world’s first oil boom occurred along this trail and on the flat land on the other side of Oil Creek. Colonel Edwin Drake struck oil in 1859 and thousands of people poured in. Derricks, boom towns, and railroads followed. By 1871 the boom was over and nature starting taking over. There are still some foundation walls and other remnants of towns and refineries along the trail. You can hear "barking" from the demonstration equipment at the Drake Well Museum on the other side of the creek - an interesting place to visit. We started at the Jersey Bridge parking lot and walked/rolled south for about a mile before turning around. The first section from the parking lot is steep and in the sun but when the trail hits the railroad grade it levels out and enters the forest. One short section of storm damaged trail has been temporarily fixed with gravel.
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Hard to feature PA as being a major oil producer back in the day, tho coal was easy to locate. Interesting find, this one.
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