Oil Region National Heritage Area in northwestern Pennsylvania witnessed the birth of the oil industry and a legacy of petroleum that continues to shape industry, society, and politics. Edwin L. Drake drilled the world’s first commercially successful oil well in Venango County near Titusville, Pennsylvania on August 27, 1859. Oil-related businesses grew quickly afterwards, to drill and transport the product down Oil Creek or via the rapidly-growing railroad system. Stories of the early oil industry are visible everywhere, in the photography of John Mather, or in office building murals in Titusville, Oil City, and Franklin. In the 1860s, oil fortunes were quickly made and lost, as Coal Oil Johnny and residents of the boomtown of Pithole could attest. But even as the industry flourished to power late-nineteenth century progress, it was accompanied by disasters that frequently marked this dangerous and dirty business: Pond Freshet in 1864, fires, and floods. Investigations of muckraker journalists like Ida Tarbell challenged the business practices of oil tycoons like John D. Rockefeller. Visit the Drake Well Museum (admission) to learn the story of early oil industry. Explore the oil artifacts, industrial landscapes, and scenic communities of this area sometimes called “The Valley that Changed the World.”