Titusville, Pennsylvania
| Titusville, Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| City of Titusville | |
 |
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| Etymology: Jonathan Titus | |
| Nickname(s): Birthplace of the Oil Industry | |
| Motto: "The Valley That Changed The World!" | |
 Titusville, Pennsylvania
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| Coordinates: 41°38′N 79°40′W / 41.633°N 79.667°WCoordinates: 41°38′N 79°40′W / 41.633°N 79.667°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Crawford |
| Founded | 1796 |
| Incorporated (borough) | 6 March 1849 |
| Incorporated (city) | 28 February 1866 |
| Region government/seat | Council–manager |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Esther Smith (R) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.9 sq mi (8 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 5,601 |
| • Density | 1,900/sq mi (750/km2) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-4) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP Code | 16354 |
| Area code(s) | 814 |
| Website | www |
Titusville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,601 at the 2010 census, and the city is part of the Meadville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area and Erie-Meadville, PA Combined Statistical Area. Titusville is where the modern oil industry began.
The area was first settled in 1796 by Jonathan Titus. Within 14 years, others bought and improved the land lying near him, along the banks of the now-named Oil Creek. He named the village Edinburg(h), but as the village grew, the settlers began to call this little hamlet Titusville. The village was incorporated as a borough in 1849.
Lumber was the principal industry with at least 17 sawmills in the area.
The Titusville City Hall and Titusville Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Titusville was a slow-growing community until the 1850s, when petroleum was discovered in the region.
Oil was known to exist here, but there was no practical way to extract it. Its main use at that time had been as a medicine for both animals and humans. In the late 1850s Seneca Oil Company (formerly the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company) sent Col. Edwin L. Drake, to start drilling on a piece of leased land just south of Titusville near what is now Oil Creek State Park. Drake hired a salt well driller, William A. Smith, in the summer of 1859. They had many difficulties, but on August 27 at the site of an oil spring just south of Titusville, they finally drilled a well that could be commercially successful.
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Wikipedia