Oil Springs National Historic Site

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First designated by the Federal Government as a National Historic site in 1925, the area was expanded in 2006 and now includes the Oil Museum of Canada and the privately owned Fairbank Oil Properties, operated by descendants of oil pioneer Charles Fairbank. The site encompasses most of the 5 sq. km. Oil Springs Oil Field, which still produces oil from the Fairbank properties and other lands.

The World's First Commercial Oilfield

In 1858, James Miller Williams a Hamilton, Ontario asphalt producer, hand dug a 40 ft. deep well and began producing oil. A year later, in 1859, he drilled another well using a spring pole drill worked by foot power and established what is considered to be the World's first commercial oil field. In the same year Col. Drake produced his famous well in Pennsylvania.

First Oil Boom

A boom began in 1860 and by 1862 there were over 1,000 wells, producing 12,000 barrels of oil a day and 10 refineries. The population of Oil Springs soared to over 3,000. Land was subdivided into small parcels, most a fraction of an acre in size, to accommodate all of the oil wells. It was thought that the greater the number of wells, the greater the production of oil. The boom did not last long and by February 1863, the number of free flowing wells was reduced to 2 with other wells being hand pumped. Output was down to 100 barrels a day. The end came in 1866 when the much larger Petrolia Field was discovered and the oil men and their equipment moved to that area and the population of Oil Springs fell to 551 by 1871.

Second Oil Boom

In 1881, the price of oil rose and new wells were sunk and oil was struck at a depth of 450 feet. Between 1883 and 1886, wells in Oil Springs produced 500,000 barrels of oil and the population of the village grew to 673. New wells were sunk and by 1888 there were 964 wells in operation.

The Modern Era

It was calculated that by 1940 Oil Springs had yielded over 8 million barrels of oil. Since 1992, the field has continued to produce an average of 34,600 barrels of oil a year, with the level of activity dependent upon the price of crude oil. The oil is trucked to the Imperial oil refinery in Sarnia.

Oil Museum of Canada

Operated by the County of Lambton, the Oil Museum of Canada povides a complete history of the early years of the oil industry in Canada, including a replica of the first commercial oil well. Indoor features include galleries and a theatre, while outdoor exhibits feature jerker lines, power house, holding tanks, pole drilling rig, blacksmith shop, gum beds, Procar tank car and the 1895 Oil Springs railway station.

Fairbank Properties