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Early Oil Fields of Southwestern Ontario

Other smaller oil fields were discovered in the area, but were short-lived ventures. In Kent County, near Bothwell, the first oil spring had been recorded in 1793 but it wasn't until 1863 that oil was produced in commercial quantities. With the railway nearby which greatly reduced the cost of transportation, increasing the profits of the producers, the oil frenzy at Bothwell was felt more strongly than at Oil Springs or Petrolia. The Bothwell oil boom lasted only six years, but the field continues to produce oil in small quantities today.

Beginning in 1872, a number of high-producing oil wells were sunk at Marthaville, north of Petrolia. The Marthaville boom brought about 500 inhabitants to the area and soon the landscape was full of three-pole derricks. When oil prices crashed the following year and only the largest producers managed to stay in operation, most people moved away from Marthaville, some even taking their houses with them.

Two teams of horses in front of carts loaded with wooden barrels. A group of men is loading the barrels onto the carts. There is a large building in the background

Early Canadian Pole Drilling Rig. Oil Museum of Canada Collection