When I think of Pennsylvania the last thing I think about is oil, oil mining or birthplace of the American Oil Industry. Colonel Drake Oil was determined to prove to everyone that he could drill for oil and mass produce it. As a result, he needed some help from a few friends and luck was on his side. Drake was actually fired two weeks before his discovery (it took 2 weeks for the letter to arrive) and only had a 24 hour window.  Luckily, he struck oil in a very shallow pool that went dry two years later. Drake was not a real Colonel but was given the title when letters started arriving addressed to the Colonel Drake.

We visited the Drake Oil Museum in Titusville, PA, the birthplace of the American Oil Industry. It actually was amazing, for kids and adults, and well worth the $10 per person price. First of all, you start off by watching a very entertaining movie.  Learning about Edwin Drake, history of oil, many uses of oil and why it is so important to our everyday lives. Interactive displays were throughout the museum, and in addition to computer history games that the girl enjoyed playing. We got to push buttons that show how everything works, and you also learn a little along the way.

After playing in the museum for a while we headed outside and ran into Mr. Bill who showed us a working oil drill. He answered 100s of question that my husband (who loved the place) and the kids asked. He let the girls “Let off some steam” or blow the whistle to let steam off from the steam engine that was running the drill. They had several old drills on display with plaques that explained the history of each. There were several building that had interactive displays explaining different aspects of the oil industry.

Letting off Steam

Our day ended by visiting Corkey II which serves mouth watering gooey cheesy pizza. Right next door, Corkey ice-cream that offered 24 flavors of soft serve ice-cream, sundaes, slushies, and many other sweet treats. Last stop before heading home was Queen Cutlery which is the oldest knife manufacture in America. When your husband collects knifes it’s a must see, but they only offer tour once a year in August.