Having lived in this area for many years, it's cool to be able to share this.
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Hundreds mark 150 years since first commercial oil well in Oil Springs, Ont.
By Tamsyn Burgmann, The Canadian Press
OIL SPRINGS, Ont. - Hundreds gathered for a boisterous parade Saturday to mark the 150th anniversary of the digging of North America's first commercial oil well in this tiny community southeast of Sarnia.
The procession rolled through dusty streets around noon, trundling toward the historic spot where James Miller Williams dug the oil well that touched off the North American oil rush in 1858 and ushering in the modern petroleum industry.
"Today we're celebrating 150 years of oil from Oil Springs, which is 150 years of oil for the world," said Robert Tremain, museum curator for Lambton County. "This is the site of the world's first commercial oil well, it's also the site of Canada's first refinery and the site of the world's first registered petroleum company."
Oil derricks stretching to the skies and the faint whiff of crude - still being pumped in the tens of thousands of barrels today - formed the background for the festivities.
"We call it the smell of money," joked Dawn Marie, a staff member of the Oil Museum of Canada and site of the preserved oil well.
Some 70,000 barrels are still pumped from the area each year and transported to Sarnia. The amount pumped is considered a tiny quality compared to what the multinationals pump today. The majority of these wells still use 19th century technology that was invented in Oil Springs, including the jerker line system and Canadian Pole tool drilling method.
Decked in a Victorian era bonnet and full green skirt, Connie Bell, the museum's supervisor, said she was pleased with the turnout.
"We had everything from fire trucks, to the kids on bikes, old vehicles, we even had a modern day tank truck that carries the oil of here to this very day."
After declarations by the mayor and local MPs, school children joined folk singer-songwriter Bernie Gilmore in a song.
"Nylon, lipstick, gasoline and glue, we use oil in most things its true," they sang. "Because oil makes life's things today, what will we do when it runs out someday?"
Along with commemorating the event, a message about the importance of the area's heritage and preserving oil permeated the festivities.
Local historians hope the bash will help raise the Oil Heritage District's profile, so that one day it might gain UNESCO designation.
"We've got enough national and provincial and world firsts, that we think this site and the Oil Heritage District of Lambton County warrants World Heritage status," Tremain said.
Carol Graham, the author and director of a play about the region's history, said people from Oil Springs and it's bigger boom-town neighbour Petrolia spread their know-how across the globe.
"Petrolia was better known than Toronto at that time," she said.
V
Hundreds mark 150 years since first commercial oil well in Oil Springs, Ont.
By Tamsyn Burgmann, The Canadian Press
OIL SPRINGS, Ont. - Hundreds gathered for a boisterous parade Saturday to mark the 150th anniversary of the digging of North America's first commercial oil well in this tiny community southeast of Sarnia.
The procession rolled through dusty streets around noon, trundling toward the historic spot where James Miller Williams dug the oil well that touched off the North American oil rush in 1858 and ushering in the modern petroleum industry.
"Today we're celebrating 150 years of oil from Oil Springs, which is 150 years of oil for the world," said Robert Tremain, museum curator for Lambton County. "This is the site of the world's first commercial oil well, it's also the site of Canada's first refinery and the site of the world's first registered petroleum company."
Oil derricks stretching to the skies and the faint whiff of crude - still being pumped in the tens of thousands of barrels today - formed the background for the festivities.
"We call it the smell of money," joked Dawn Marie, a staff member of the Oil Museum of Canada and site of the preserved oil well.
Some 70,000 barrels are still pumped from the area each year and transported to Sarnia. The amount pumped is considered a tiny quality compared to what the multinationals pump today. The majority of these wells still use 19th century technology that was invented in Oil Springs, including the jerker line system and Canadian Pole tool drilling method.
Decked in a Victorian era bonnet and full green skirt, Connie Bell, the museum's supervisor, said she was pleased with the turnout.
"We had everything from fire trucks, to the kids on bikes, old vehicles, we even had a modern day tank truck that carries the oil of here to this very day."
After declarations by the mayor and local MPs, school children joined folk singer-songwriter Bernie Gilmore in a song.
"Nylon, lipstick, gasoline and glue, we use oil in most things its true," they sang. "Because oil makes life's things today, what will we do when it runs out someday?"
Along with commemorating the event, a message about the importance of the area's heritage and preserving oil permeated the festivities.
Local historians hope the bash will help raise the Oil Heritage District's profile, so that one day it might gain UNESCO designation.
"We've got enough national and provincial and world firsts, that we think this site and the Oil Heritage District of Lambton County warrants World Heritage status," Tremain said.
Carol Graham, the author and director of a play about the region's history, said people from Oil Springs and it's bigger boom-town neighbour Petrolia spread their know-how across the globe.
"Petrolia was better known than Toronto at that time," she said.