The Deming House at 711 West First Street in Oil City recently received an Oil Region National Heritage Area Historic

Photo by Kim Harris

House Plaque.  The house was constructed in 1878 and Horace B. VanVelsor, a hardware and oil well supply businessman, first owned the home. He sold the home in 1882 to Phillip Henry Judd, a successful oil producer.

  Alvin Drake Deming purchased the home in 1889.  Mr. Deming was one of four principals involved in the organization of the Independent Oil Company in 1882, which in time became known as the Independent Refining Company that eventually became part of the Quaker State Refining Company.

   The house has had many owners since Mr. Deming, but Neil and Lois McElwee, the current owners, make their home in this house constructed with the influence of the "Stick" style architecture. 

   Oil Region National Heritage Area Historic House Plaques are available through the Oil Region Alliance.  Anyone interested in receiving a historic house plaque for their house, commercial building, or church should contact Kim Harris at 814-677-3152, Ext. 120, or kharris@oilregion.org.

   Participation in the program does not place any future restrictions on the structure. 

Oil 150 Initiative

by Melissa Mann, Oil 150 Deputy Director

    
 On September 17, the Oil Region Alliance's Oil 150 initiative will be honored at the 2010 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards.  Oil 150 will receive the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission 2009 Theme Award - Energy and Innovation.

   Receiving the award for the Alliance will be Randy Seitz and Melissa Mann.  The day's photographer will be John Phillips.

   The annual awards ceremony is sponsored by Preservation Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth's only statewide, private non-profit, membership organization dedicated to historic preservation. The event will be held at 2:00 p.m. at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.  Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by contacting Preservation Pennsylvania at 717-234-2310. 

Natural Gas Museum Feasibility Study Report Completed

by Marilyn Black, VP-Heritage Development

  Under contract with the Oil Region Alliance, the Boston firm of Experience Design completed a study and report on the feasibility of establishing a natural gas museum within the Oil Region National Heritage Area.  Printed reports are available; notify mblack@oilregion.org and provide mailing address.

   The study's findings will be used by the Alliance in making decisions on the development direction to be taken in the field of gas industry history, and regarding stewardship of the extensive collection of gas industry artifacts owned by the Alliance.  The collection was donated by National Fuel Gas Company to the Venango Economic Development Corporation (predecessor to the Alliance) in 2002.  The collection was inventoried, photographed, appraised, and organized by representatives of the Venango County Historical Society in 2005.  The collection is stored at three locations within the City of Oil City.

   This study concludes that it is not cost-effective or programmatically feasible to open a new stand-alone museum in the ORNHA dedicated to the history of the gas industry in northwestern Pennsylvania, western New York, and northeastern Ohio.

   Instead, three development options are determined to be feasible in terms of monetary aspects, resources available, and mission of the Alliance and the ORNHA.  During the next several months, the Alliance Heritage Advisory Council and the Alliance Board of Directors will review the findings and make decisions as to which courses to implement from these options:  (a) prepare and operate one or more traveling exhibits using key artifacts or duplicates; (b) organize a virtual museum (electronic only) in which the public utilizes/visits the new website which would be established; and (c) enter into detailed discussions with Drake Well Museum and the PA Historical and Museum Commission which administers it to consider adding significant new exhibits and possibly an additional building on the grounds dedicated to the history of the natural gas industry.  The Alliance staff have identified two additional possible directions:  (d) transfer the large equipment pieces to Cool Spring Power Museum in Jefferson County for restoration/display there; and (e) begin a five-year Natural Gas History Initiative as outlined in the new draft Alliance Strategic Plan.

   This study was co-funded by a PA Heritage Area Program grant from DCNR's Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, National Fuel Gas Company Foundation, and the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior.

Alliance Hosted Open House at the Coal Oil Johnny House

 by Toni Kresinski, Events Manager

  Approximately 100 people attended the open house at the "Coal Oil Johnny House" on Saturday, August 7.  The historic structure, officially referred to as the "McClintock-Steele-Waitz" House, is owned by the Oil Region Alliance.  It was most likely constructed c.1850.  John Steele inherited the house and the fortune derived from oil wells on the property at the tender age of 21.  His youthfulness most likely contributed to his leaving his wife and child behind to travel to Philadelphia on a two-year spending spree where he acquired the nickname of "Coal Oil Johnny."    

   The house was moved in 2002 to its location at the Rynd Farm Station of the Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad in Oil Creek State Park.  Some rehabilitation of the home has taken place and interior decoration is progressing.  Several antiques are already on site, and period-appropriate items are being accepted as donations.   

   The rehabilitation project was financed in part by a grant from the PA Heritage Parks Program with additional funding provided by the PA Museum & Historical Commission and private donors.