Approximate Image Size: 13 1/2" x 18"
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The clear waters of Oil Creek reveal little of its origins. This stream
popular with fly
fishermen and a wide variety of wildlife, once glistened with petroleum
- not trout. Oil once
seeped from the ground and flowed into the creek. Native Americans,
who once believed
it had medicinal properties, carefully skimmed it. Then in 1859, Edwin
Drake used a
drilling technique to begin harvesting the petroleum for profit.
The oil frenzy lasted less than two decades. By 1875 the wells began
to dry up and the
prospectors packed up to try their luck elsewhere. Nature slowly reclaimed
the valley.
Today, there is no trace of the oil that changed this valley and the
world.
Otters have been recently re-introduced to this area. The wildlife is
thriving.
Sponsored by the Oil Heritage Tourist Promotion Agency, Inc., Oil City,
PA
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