<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drake Well</span>

Drake Well

<p>The <b>Drake Well</b> is a <span>69.5-foot-deep (21.2</span><span>&nbsp;</span><span>m)</span> <a href="/en/Oil_well" title="Oil well" class="wl">oil well</a> in <a href="/en/Cherrytree_Township,_Venango_County,_Pennsylvania" title="Cherrytree Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania" class="wl">Cherrytree Township</a>, <a href="/en/Venango_County,_Pennsylvania" title="Venango County, Pennsylvania" class="wl">Venango County</a> in the U.S. state of <a href="/en/Pennsylvania" title="Pennsylvania" class="wl">Pennsylvania</a>, the success of which sparked the first oil boom in the United States. The well is the centerpiece of the <a href="/en/Drake_Well_Museum" title="Drake Well Museum" class="wl">Drake Well Museum</a> located <span>3 miles (5</span><span>&nbsp;</span><span>km)</span> south of <a href="/en/Titusville,_Pennsylvania" title="Titusville, Pennsylvania" class="wl">Titusville</a>.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt2">United States historic place</div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Location, Nearest city, Coordinates, Built, B...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox mobile-collapse-element" style="border-spacing:1px;"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader" style="padding:0; border:none;"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><div style="width:100%; font-size:110%; font-weight:bold; background:#A8EDEF; line-height:1.5" about="#mwt25" class="notheme">Drake Oil Well</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><div style="width:100%; text-align:center; line-height:1.5; background:#A8EDEF;" about="#mwt26" class="notheme"><a href="/en/National_Register_of_Historic_Places" title="National Register of Historic Places" class="wl">U.S. National Register of Historic Places</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><div style="width:100%; text-align:center; line-height:1.4; background:#87CEEB" about="#mwt27" class="notheme"><a href="/en/National_Historic_Landmark" title="National Historic Landmark" class="wl">U.S. National Historic Landmark</a></div></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2">
</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span><a href="/en/File:Drake_Well,_June_2012.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Drake_Well,_June_2012.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Drake_Well%2C_June_2012.jpg/285px-Drake_Well%2C_June_2012.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="3264" data-file-height="2448" data-file-type="bitmap" height="214" width="285" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Drake_Well%2C_June_2012.jpg/428px-Drake_Well%2C_June_2012.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Drake_Well%2C_June_2012.jpg/570px-Drake_Well%2C_June_2012.jpg 2x" alt="Drake_Well%2C_June_2012.jpg"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Replica engine house and derrick in June<span>&nbsp;</span>2012</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><div class="switcher-container"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r997900035" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .locmap .od{position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .id{position:absolute;line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .locmap .l0{font-size:0;position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv{line-height:110%;position:absolute;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv>div{display:inline;padding:1px}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:left}</style><div class="center"><div class="locmap" style="width:285px;float:none;clear:both;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"><div style="width:285px;padding:0"><div style="position:relative;width:285px"><span class="notpageimage"><a href="/en/File:USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" title="Drake Well is located in Pennsylvania" data-hash="File:USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg/285px-USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="1201" data-file-height="805" data-file-type="drawing" height="191" width="285" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg/428px-USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg/570px-USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg.png 2x" alt="USA_Pennsylvania_location_map.svg"></a></span><div class="od" style="top:34.037%;left:16.811%"><div class="id" style="left:-4px;top:-4px"><span class="notpageimage"><span><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/7px-Red_pog.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="64" data-file-height="64" data-file-type="drawing" height="7" width="7" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/11px-Red_pog.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/14px-Red_pog.svg.png 2x" alt="Red_pog.svg"></span></span></div></div></div><div style="padding-top:0.2em"></div><span class="switcher-label" style="display:none">Show map of Pennsylvania</span></div></div></div><div class="center"><div class="locmap" style="width:285px;float:none;clear:both;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"><div style="width:285px;padding:0"><div style="position:relative;width:285px"><span class="notpageimage"><a href="/en/File:Usa_edcp_location_map.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" title="Drake Well is located in the United States" data-hash="File:Usa_edcp_location_map.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Usa_edcp_location_map.svg/285px-Usa_edcp_location_map.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="1181" data-file-height="731" data-file-type="drawing" height="176" width="285" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Usa_edcp_location_map.svg/428px-Usa_edcp_location_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Usa_edcp_location_map.svg/570px-Usa_edcp_location_map.svg.png 2x" alt="Usa_edcp_location_map.svg"></a></span><div class="od" style="top:35.459%;left:76.305%"><div class="id" style="left:-4px;top:-4px"><span class="notpageimage"><span><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/7px-Red_pog.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="64" data-file-height="64" data-file-type="drawing" height="7" width="7" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/11px-Red_pog.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/14px-Red_pog.svg.png 2x" alt="Red_pog.svg"></span></span></div></div></div><div style="padding-top:0.2em"></div><span class="switcher-label" style="display:none">Show map of the United States</span></div></div></div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">Location</th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;"><a href="/en/Cherrytree_Township,_Venango_County,_Pennsylvania" title="Cherrytree Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania" class="wl">Cherrytree Township</a>, <a href="/en/Venango_County,_Pennsylvania" title="Venango County, Pennsylvania" class="wl">Venango County</a>, <a href="/en/Pennsylvania" title="Pennsylvania" class="wl">Pennsylvania</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">Nearest city</th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;"><a href="/en/Titusville,_Pennsylvania" title="Titusville, Pennsylvania" class="wl">Titusville</a>, <a href="/en/Pennsylvania" title="Pennsylvania" class="wl">Pennsylvania</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">Coordinates</th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1073938472" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a rel="mw:ExtLink" href="//geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Drake_Well&amp;params=41_36_39_N_79_39_27.7_W_type:landmark_region:US-PA" class="external text" target="_blank"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms"><span class="latitude">41°36′39″N</span> <span class="longitude">79°39′27.7″W</span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">Built</th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;">1859<span style="display:none"><span>&nbsp;</span>(<span class="bday dtstart published updated">1859</span>)</span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">Built by</th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;"><a href="/en/Edwin_Drake" title="Edwin Drake" class="wl">Edwin Drake</a>, William A. Smith</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">NRHP<span>&nbsp;</span>reference<span>&nbsp;</span><abbr about="#mwt28" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>number</span>&quot;}]]}">No.</abbr></th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/66000695" class="external text" target="_blank">66000695</a><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-focus_1-0"><a href="#cite_note-focus-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background:#A8EDEF" about="#mwt29" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;style&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;background:<span typeof=\\&quot;mw:Nowiki\\&quot; data-parsoid=\\&quot;{}\\&quot;>\\n#A8EDEF</span>&quot;}]]}">Significant dates</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">Added to NRHP</th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;">November 13, 1966</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="font-weight:bold; border: 0;">Designated<span>&nbsp;</span>NHL</th><td class="infobox-data" style="border: 0;">November 13, 1966</td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>
<p>Drilled by <a href="/en/Edwin_Drake" title="Edwin Drake" class="wl">Edwin Drake</a> in 1859, along the banks of <a href="/en/Oil_Creek_(Allegheny_River)" title="Oil Creek (Allegheny River)" class="mw-redirect wl">Oil Creek</a>, it is the first commercial oil well in the United States. Drake Well was listed on <a href="/en/National_Register_of_Historic_Places" title="National Register of Historic Places" class="wl">National Register of Historic Places</a> and designated a <a href="/en/National_Historic_Landmark" title="National Historic Landmark" class="wl">National Historic Landmark</a> in 1966. It was designated a <a href="/en/Historic_Mechanical_Engineering_Landmark" title="Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark" class="mw-redirect wl">Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark</a> in 1979. The well was designated a <a href="/en/National_Historic_Chemical_Landmarks" title="National Historic Chemical Landmarks" class="wl">National Historic Chemical Landmark</a> in 2009, on the <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sesquicentennial" title="wikt:sesquicentennial" class="extiw" target="_blank">sesquicentennial</a> of the strike.</p>

<p>The Drake Well is often referred to as the first commercial oil well, although that title is also claimed for wells in <a href="/en/Baku_oil_boom" title="Baku oil boom" class="mw-redirect wl">Azerbaijan</a>, <a href="/en/Oil_Springs,_Ontario" title="Oil Springs, Ontario" class="wl">Ontario</a>, <a href="/en/Burning_Springs,_West_Virginia" title="Burning Springs, West Virginia" class="wl">West Virginia</a>, <a href="/en/Yenangyaung" title="Yenangyaung" class="wl">Myanmar</a>, <a href="/en/Persia" title="Persia" class="mw-redirect wl">Persia</a>, <a href="/en/Arabia" title="Arabia" class="mw-redirect wl">Arabia</a>, <a href="/en/Sichuan" title="Sichuan" class="wl">Sichuan</a> <a href="/en/China" title="China" class="wl">China</a> and <a href="/en/Ignacy_Łukasiewicz" title="Ignacy Łukasiewicz" class="wl">Poland</a>, among others. </p>

<p>In the United States before the Drake Well, oil-producing wells were wells that were drilled for salt brine, and produced oil and gas only as accidental byproducts. An intended drinking water well at <a href="/en/Oil_Springs,_Ontario" title="Oil Springs, Ontario" class="wl">Oil Springs, Ontario</a> found oil in 1858, a year before the Drake Well, but it had not been drilled for oil. Historians have noted that the importance of the Drake Well was not in being the first well to produce oil, but in attracting the first great wave of investment in oil drilling, refining, and marketing:</p>

<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r996844942" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}</style><blockquote class="templatequote "><p>The importance of the Drake Well was in the fact that it caused prompt additional drilling, thus establishing a supply of petroleum in sufficient quantity to support business enterprises of magnitude.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span></p></blockquote>



The Drake Well is a 69.5-foot-deep oil well in Cherrytree Township, Venango County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the success of which sparked the first oil boom in the United States. The well is the centerpiece of the Drake Well Museum located 3 miles south of Titusville. Drilled by Edwin Drake in 1859, along the banks of Oil Creek, it is the first commercial oil well in the United States. Drake Well was listed on National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. It was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1979. The well was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark in 2009, on the sesquicentennial of the strike. The Drake Well is often referred to as the first commercial oil well, although that title is also claimed for wells in Azerbaijan, Ontario, West Virginia, Myanmar, Persia, Arabia, Sichuan China and Poland, among others.  