Oil in Pennsylvania and California
The first successful drilling operation for underground oil was in 1859 near Titusville, Pennsylvania. In less than 15 years, Pennsylvania oilmen started prospecting the fields in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles.
SC Graham, Wallace Hardison, Harvey Hardison and CP Collins were all early Pennsylvania oil hands who went out to California to seize the new opportunities there.
Pennsylvania
- Early history of oil - by Samuel Pees
- Timeline of the oil industry
- James Hardison worked on oil creek in the early years
- An early photo of the Tarr ranch on Oil Creek, Venango Co., Pennsylvania
- The History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (where Patrick Graham settled)
- Map of Pennsylvania oil fields
- 1874 Map of Brady Twp (Butler Co.), Pa (D. Graham) USGS
- 1874 Map of Jefferson Twp (Butler Co.), Pa (P. Graham), USGS
California
- The history of Union Oil Company (now Unocal)
- Involvement of SC Graham and Thomas Bard (also a scanned contract)
| Ancestors | ||
| James Hardison | China, Me | 1841-1929 |
| Harvey Hardison | Caribou, Me | 1844-1890 |
| Wallace Hardisn | Caribou, Me | 1850-1909 |
| S.C. Graham | Armstrong Co., Pa | 1862-1934 |
| Associates | ||
| Milton Stewart | Venango Co., Pa | 1838-1923 |
| Lyman Stewart | Venango Co., Pa | 1840-1923 |
| Thomas Bard | ||
Last updated October 9, 2012