Western Canada

The Canadian pole-tool drilling rig, which proved its usefulness in the pioneer oilfields of Central Europe, was also used in the early development of the Western Canadian oil fields. John Lineham, who formed the Rocky Mountain Development Company in 1901, drilled the first oil well in Alberta (at what is now Waterton Lakes National Park) with a Canadian pole drilling rig shipped from Petrolia. Just as the Lambton men were sought for their expertise in overseas oil fields, so too were they drawn to the oil drilling enterprises in Western Canada. George Palmer Stafford and his son, George Franklin Stafford, both worked on the Fairbank oil properties in Lambton County but left to join John Lineham in Southern Alberta. After their successful strike at Waterton Lakes, George Franklin Stafford took his expertise and equipment to Peace River in 1918. Many more Lambton men joined the ranks of the Alberta oilers over the years, making contributions to oil sands exploration near the Athabasca River and oil well drilling at Turner Valley and Leduc.

Diagram of a Canadian Drilling Rig from a page in an Oil Well Supply Company catalogue. Oil Museum of Canada Collection