Chief Cornplanter Mural

"Chief Cornplanter and the Oilmen" by Michael Allison, of Hollidaysburg

Native Americans inhabited the area for generations before the arrival of European settlers. Members of the Seneca Tribe were here when French explorers arrived in the late 1700s. The Seneca were aware of oil in the creek and collected it in timber-lined pits. Cornplanter was a Seneca Indian war chief and diplomat of the Wolf clan who fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. Seneca Chief Cornplanter was granted three land tracts in the 1790s by the PA Commonwealth in appreciation for his services during the American Revolution. One tract of about 300 acres included what would become Oil City. Afterward, he had many complicated dealings with the white men who occupied the area, but his legacy was favorable enough that one of Pennsylvania's 1,454 townships is named after him.

The first settlers within the current city boundary were Francis and Sarah Halyday, who lived near the confluence of Oil Creek and the Allegheny River. New residents arrived slowly to the area into the mid-19th century.

Circumstances changed dramatically after Edwin Drake's successful oil strike along Oil Creek just outside of Titusville. In 1859, the settlement then called Cornplanter was located at the mouth of Oil Creek at the Allegheny River and included about 25 people and a few buildings.

As people arrived to join the booming Oil Industry, many became residents of the imediate area. In 1861, the name of the town was changed to Oil City and the municipal government was organized the next year. In 1865, the population was approximately 6,000. That's quite an increase from just 25 people only six years earlier!

Oil City became the hub for oil transport- first by waterways, then by train, and later by pipeline. Many companies operated within the area and successful operations expanded, attracting more residents. In 1871, Oil City was incorporated as a city and municipal improvement projects, such as sewer and new water supply systems, soon followed.

The oil fields boomed until the discovery of larger fields in other states and countries in the 20th century. Several oil-related companies in Oil City remained in operation, but eventually they ceased operations or relocated.

The oil boom helped shape Oil City into the place it is today.

For more information on the funding of this mural, check out this link.