Modern Pennsylvania was built on steel and oil. Old steel mills and oil wells can still be seen in some areas in the state. Along the banks of Oil Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania, the world?s first successful oil well was established in the spot where a small museum now stands.

The Drake Well Museum collects, preserves and displays artifacts related to the historic and trailblazing achievement of Edwin Drake, who founded the world?s first oil well in 1859. According to historians, Drake hired a salt well driller, William A. Smith, in an attempt to extract oil. After many unsuccessful tries, the two finally broke through and their success gave birth to world?s modern oil industry in. A reconstructed Drake Oil Well stands at the site to demonstrate how the salt drilling techniques were used to extract petroleum. For its historic and economic significance, the museum was declared a National Historic Landmark on November 13, 1966.