Drake Well Museum and Park will hold a virtual Drake Day celebration at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The event will mark the 161st anniversary of the Drake Well oil strike.
Museum curator Susan Beates will share items from the museum’s collection during a virtual lecture titled, “Memories to Museum: Honoring Drake & The Birthplace of the Petroleum Industry.”
Broadcast live via Zoom, the lecture will examine the lives of the founders of the Drake Day Association and explore how their memories of the early days of the oil industry eventually led to the building of a museum.
“This is a special moment for us to showcase Drake Well Museum and Park and the region’s rich history,” said Amanda Slider, director of the Friends of Drake Well, which is hosting the event.
“Virtual Drake Day allows attendees to conveniently participate from anywhere they have access to a computer and internet. We can now connect history lovers from all over, creating unique opportunities for learning and collaboration,” Slider said.
The annual Drake Day celebration marks the moment Edwin L. Drake struck oil near Titusville, launching an industry that has forever shaped the modern world.
Following Drake’s success in August 1859, oil fever gripped the region. People rushed up and down the Oil Creek Valley, leasing land, drilling wells and developing the industry.
Throughout the 19th century, Pennsylvania was the center of the world’s oil industry and generated new technologies, business practices and wealth. Even after the industry’s headquarters shifted to Texas and Oklahoma, Pennsylvania continued to make significant contributions to the industry throughout the 20th century and beyond.
The story of these pivotal events and the heritage of Pennsylvania’s oil region are preserved at the museum’s 240-acre site in Titusville.
More information about Drake Day is available by calling (814) 827-2797 or going online to http://www.drakewell.org.
