About Titusville
The City of Titusville is nestled in the Oil Creek Valley in the foothills of Northwestern Pennsylvania. Along with its surrounding communities, Titusville has both witnessed and played a starring role in our nation’s development.
Archaeological evidence indicates occupation along the banks of Oil Creek by Native Americans in the centuries preceding European contact. As French and English powers pushed into the Pennsylvania frontier, they drew the native Iroquois Nation and other tribes into the historic record. Settlement continued in the years following the French & Indian War and the American Revolution, with Europeans attracted to the Pennsylvania backcountry by adventure, opportunity, and abundant natural resources.
In the late 1700s, the Holland Land Company sent its agents to explore the land in what is now Crawford, Venango, and Warren Counties. After taking loans from the Dutch government during the Revolution, the U.S. government paid their lenders in the one commodity it had plenty of—land. When surveyors Jonathan Titus and Samuel Kerr arrived in the area in 1796 on behalf of the company, they knew they had found the perfect place to settle.1 Before long they had brought their families to the settlement, built a church, and established a life for themselves on the edge of the frontier.
Titusville may have continued as a small rural community, were it not for Edwin L. Drake and his monumental discovery of oil. Convinced that the land around Oil Creek was rich in petroleum, thanks in part to early Native discoveries and scientific advances in the early 19th century, Drake and driller William A. Smith (with support from the Titusville community) set their sights on drilling a successful well.2 When they struck oil on August 27, 1859, they set in motion the modern petroleum industry and changed the world. Almost overnight, Titusville became one of Pennsylvania’s most important cities. A booming business district sprang up, and oil wealth helped build incredible residential homes in a variety of architectural styles.3 Local and national dramas played out on Titusville’s stage throughout this dynamic period of the late 1800s, with characters ranging from Civil War heroes and oil tycoons, to muckraking journalists and law-breaking wildcatters.
As the petroleum industry shifted towards western oil fields, Titusville continued to grow and change throughout the 20th century. The area produced amazing individuals, such as the town’s poet laureate Edwin Garnet Riley; explorer Ruth Harkness; football star John Heisman; artists Leal Mack, Laura Luce, and Martha Herpst; and book collector William Scheide. It is also the home of the men and women who worked in its steel mill, owned its shops and restaurants, taught in its schools, and pastored in its churches. It is the privilege of the Titusville Historical Society to preserve and share these stories.
1. Mabel Clark, Titusville: An Illustrated History (Titusville Area School District: Titusville, Pa., 1976), 7.
2. Ibid., 35.
3. “Titusville Design Guide for Historic Structures,” Titusville PA Heritage Connection, accessed February 22, 2024, https://titusvillepaheritageconnection.omeka.net/items/show/38.
Titusville Timeline
In the period before European contact, Western Pennsylvania was inhabited by a dynamic mixture of Native Americans from the Delaware, Erie, and Iroquois peoples.
1750
French military officers describe a Seneca ceremony on the banks of Oil Creek near the future Titusville site.
1796
Jonathan Titus and Samuel Kerr arrive in the Oil Creek valley on behalf of the Holland Land Company.
Settlers continue to make a home in the Titusville region.
1797
William Reynolds settles Cherrytree Village. The area around Hydetown is settled by Peter Titus, Robert Curry, Dan Titus, and their families.
1801
Daniel McBride arrives in the area around Centerville.
1818
Pleasantville established.
1801
Daniel McBride arrives in the area around Centerville.
1818
Pleasantville established.
Titusville’s early days.
1816
A a map is drawn to lay out the village of what will later be called Titusville, with Franklin and Spring Streets at the main thoroughfares.
1840
Brewer, Gilchrist, Allen, and Company build the first sawmill, with a second soon to follow, and kick-off the area’s lumber industry.
1847
Titusville village officially becomes a borough.
1857
Jonathan Titus, founder of Titusville, dies.
The Oil Boom
1859
After much trial and error, Edwin L. Drake strikes oil to establish the modern petroleum industry.
1860
Abbot, Parker, and Barnsdall build the first oil refinery.
1862
The Oil Creek Railroad is created to connect Titusville to Corry
1866
The City of Titusville is incorporated.
Titusville grows in the years following the Oil Boom.
1869
The first Jewish congregation is organized.
1871
President Ulysses S. Grant visits Titusville; Trinity AME Church is dedicated; Woodlawn Cemetery is incorporated. Explore the cemetery online.
1880
Edwin Drake dies; T.C. Joy begins his radiator company. To learn more about this industry pioneer, check out this online exhibit.
1884
Cyclops Steel Company is founded.
1887
John Heisman, of Heisman Trophy fame, graduates from Titusville High School.
1892
Titusville Fire & Flood
A New Century
1901
The Drake Monument is dedicated at Woodlawn Cemetery; John J. Carter gives the school district the land for Carter Field; Titusville Hospital opens.
1903
Queen City Cutlery opens.
1904
Ida Tarbell’s “History of Standard Oil” is published in McClure’s magazine, taking on John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil.
Mystic Park created.
1905
Mystic Park created.
1914
YMCA building is finished.
1979
Titusville Historical Society is founded.
2022
Titusville Historical Society moves into the former YMCA building, now the Parkside.
Mission Statement
The Titusville Historical Society is a 501(c)3 that operates in the City of Titusville as a volunteer-based historical organization. The Society serves the City and surrounding areas by providing programming, free classes, an annual genealogy conference, digital collections, cemetery cataloging, online reference work, as well as exhibits and a research library at its Heritage Center. Our mission is to preserve the Titusville, Pennsylvania, area’s heritage by collecting and maintaining area artifacts; making these artifacts accessible to the public; and using these artifacts to educate every generation to become better stewards of our history.
Partner Websites
Titusville PA Heritage Connection
Benson Memorial Library
Drake Well Museum & Park
Woodlawn Cemetery
Crawford County Historical Society
Venango County Historical Society
Warren County Historical Society
Forest County Historical Society
Planning a visit?
Plan your visit to our downtown Heritage Center, located in the historic Parkside Building, Titusville’s former YMCA. Immerse yourself in the history of our town through engaging exhibits, learn more about the past at our research library and digitizing center, or give an interview at our oral history station. We look forward to welcoming you.
Board Members
Kelly Anderson Gregg
President
Kelly is a historian with many years of experience in the museum field. She runs her own collections consulting business and writes the column “North by Northwest” in Western Pennsylvania History magazine, which features stories from Northwestern Pennsylvania’s past. In addition to her work at the Society, she also serves as secretary for the Society of Pennsylvania Archeologists Venango Chapter, is on the editorial committee for the Oilfield Journal, and loves nothing more than working with our region’s material culture. She is a Cherrytree Township native.
Dr. Rhonda Clark
Vice-President
Rhonda holds a Master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies, a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science, and a Doctorate in Russian History. She has extensive experience in overseas archives. She now teaches full-time in the Department of Library Science at Clarion University, working with the arrangement and preservation of local library collections, reference skills for local history and genealogy, and the digitization of unique local items for digital library collections. She also volunteers her spare time in projects with local libraries, historical societies, and city planning organizations.
Kathryn Newson
Vice-President
Kathy is a Titusville native. She worked for the city for almost 40 years before her retirement. She is a long-time genealogist, researching her own family, many of whom have been in the area since its settlement. She has chaired the Genealogy Conference committee since its inception in 2010. She also is the chair of First Families of the Titusville, Pennsylvania area, a lineage group that celebrates the region’s first settlers. Kathy volunteers time at the Heritage Center and usually can be found at most events sponsored by the Society.
Mary Sturgis
Secretary
Mary graduated from Titusville High School in 1956. After over 40 years working in the medical field, she returned to her hometown for an active retirement. Mary gives her time to many nonprofits in the Titusville community, including the Society.
Margaret Fiely
Treasurer
Margaret was born and raised in Titusville. A 1963 graduate of Titusville High School, she was employed by the Titusville Area School District in various positions for 37 1/2 yrs. She is a member of St. Titus Roman Catholic Church, serving as Lector, Head Usher, and President of the Altar/Rosary Society; the VFW Post 5958 Auxiliary chaplain; a member of Take Pride in Titusville Committee; and a member of the Titusville Salvation Army Service Unit. Fourteen years ago, Margaret joined the Historical Society for the love of Titusville history and families, and particularly enjoys the many special programs the Society sponsors.
William Moore
Board Member at Large
Bill is a Meadville native who went away to college and law school, then practiced law in Crawford County for 42 years before retiring. One of his first projects was a genealogy of Edwin Drake’s family in 1980. He co-authored Arcadia pictorial histories of Meadville and Titusville, and more recently he has studied the first 20 classes at Titusville High School, wrote articles about 19th century-silversmiths in Erie, traced the families of those buried in the early cemeteries around Cochranton, and compiled a collection of recipes from 19th century-Titusville cookbooks.
Abigail Watson-Popescu
Board Member at Large
Abigail is a project manager at the Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry, and Tourism, which manages the Oil Region National Heritage Area. She is a life-long Titusville resident with extensive experience in historic preservation and the built environment.
Carole Hall
Board Member at Large
Carole is a Titusville native with decades of experience teaching the next generation about our region’s history. When she isn’t working on the Society’s annual History Camp or helping select speakers for our programs, she can also be found volunteering at many other heritage institutions. She is the author of a children’s book on early oil history.