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{{Geobox|Settlement
<!-- Heading -->
| name = Pithole
| other_name = Pit Hole
| other_name1 = Pithole City
| category = [[Ghost town]]
<!-- Image -->
| image = PitholePA.jpg
| image_size = 300
| image_alt = View from the bottom of a sparsely-wooded, inclined fielded in early autumn with a building overlooking the valley visible at the top.
| image_caption = The site of Pithole in October 2009. The visitor center is visible at the top of the hill.
<!-- Names -->
| official_name =
| etymology_type = Named for
| etymology = [[Pithole Creek]]
<!-- Country -->
| country = United States
| country_flag = 1
| state = Pennsylvania
| state_flag = 1
| region_type = County
| region = [[Venango County, Pennsylvania|Venango]]
| municipality_type = [[Township (Pennsylvania)|Township]]
| municipality = [[Cornplanter Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania|Cornplanter]]
<!-- Location -->
| elevation_imperial = 1316
| elevation_note = <ref>{{cite web |url={{GNIS 3|1204411}} |title=Pithole City |work=[[Geographic Names Information System]] |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |accessdate=April 6, 2011}}</ref>
| lat_d = 41
| lat_m = 31
| lat_s = 26
| lat_NS = N
| long_d = 79
| long_m = 34
| long_s = 53
| long_EW = W
<!-- History -->
| established_type = Founded
| established = {{Start date|1865|5|24}}
| established1_type = Incorporated
| established1_label = Date of incorporation
| established1 = November 30, 1865
| established2_type = Unincorporated
| established2_label = Date of unincorporation
| established2 = August 1877
| established3_type = Added to [[National Register of Historic Places|NRHP]]
| established3_label = Date of addition to the National Register of Historic Places
| established3 = March 20, 1973
| owner = Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
<!-- Access -->
| visitation =
| visitation_date =
<!-- Codes -->
| timezone = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset = -5
| timezone_DST = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]
| utc_offset_DST = -4
| code_type = [[National Register of Historic Places|NRHP]] #
| code_label = Reference number of the National Register of Historic Places
| code = 73001667
| code_note = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov |title=NPS Focus |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |accessdate=February 12, 2010}}</ref>
<!-- Maps -->
| map = Pithole map.svg
| map_size = 300
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Map of Pithole and the surrounding area showing the city streets and Frazier Well, overlayed with modern roads and creeks
| map1 = Pennsylvania Locator Map.PNG
| map1_size = 300
| map1_alt = A map of Pennsylvania with a red dot near the northwestern portion of the state.
| map1_caption = Location of Pithole in Pennsylvania
| map1_locator = Pennsylvania
}}
'''Pithole''', or '''Pithole City''', is a [[ghost town]] in [[Cornplanter Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania|Cornplanter Township]], [[Venango County, Pennsylvania|Venango County]] in [[Pennsylvania]], about {{Convert|6|mi}} from [[Oil Creek State Park]] and the [[Drake Well Museum]], the site of the first commercial oil well in the [[United States]].<ref name="PA DCNR">{{cite web |title=Oil Creek State Park |publisher=[[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]] |url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/Parks/oilcreek.aspx |accessdate=February 27, 2010}}</ref> Pithole's sudden growth and equally rapid decline, as well as its status as a "proving ground" of sorts for the burgeoning [[petroleum industry]], made it one of the most famous of oil [[boomtown]]s.<ref name="rise&fall">{{Cite news |title=Pithole's Rise and Fall |date=December 26, 1879 |format=PDF |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=February 16, 2010 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C07E0DB163EE63BBC4E51DFB4678382669FDE |page=2}}</ref>{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=240}}
Oil strikes at nearby wells in January 1865 prompted a large influx of people to the area that would become Pithole, most of whom were land speculators. The town was laid out in May 1865, and by December was [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] with an approximate population of 20,000. At its peak, Pithole had at least 54 hotels, 3 churches, the third largest post office in Pennsylvania, a newspaper, a theater, a railroad, the world's first pipeline and a [[red-light district]] "the likes of [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]]'s."<ref name="Hirschl"/> By 1866, economic growth and oil production in Pithole had slowed. Oil strikes around other nearby communities and numerous fires drove residents away from Pithole and, by 1877, the [[borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] was unincorporated.
The site was cleared of overgrowth and was donated to the [[Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission]] in 1961. A [[visitor center]], containing exhibits pertaining to the history of Pithole, was built in the 1972. Pithole was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1973.
==Etymology==
The city of Pithole derived its name from its proximity to [[Pithole Creek]], which flows through Venango County to the [[Allegheny River]].{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=1}} The origin of the name "Pithole" itself, however, is a mystery. One origination theory is that early pioneers stumbled across strange fissures from which sulfurous fumes wafted.<ref name="Hirschl">{{Cite news |last=Hirschl |first=Beatrice Paul |title=A peak {{sic}} at Pithole's past |date=August 12, 1996 |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |page=D1}}</ref> Such "pit-holes" are found in the area where Pithole Creek empties into the Allegheny River, with some measuring {{Convert|14|in|cm|0}} wide and {{Convert|8|ft|m|0}} long. Another possible explanation involves the discovery of ancient pits dug by early settlers, some {{Convert|8|ft|m|0}} wide and {{Convert|12|ft|m|0}} deep, that were [[wikt:cribbing|cribbed]] with oil-soaked timbers.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=1}} These "pit-holes", found along [[Oil Creek (Allegheny River)|Oil Creek]] and in Cornplanter Township, supposedly predate the [[Seneca nation|Senecas]] who inhabited the area from the mid-17th to the late 18th century.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=2}}
==Geology==
Most of the oil produced in northwestern Pennsylvania was formed in [[sandstone]] [[Petroleum reservoir|reservoir rocks]] at the boundary between the [[Mississippian age|Mississippian]] and [[Devonian]] rock layers.{{sfn|Caplinger|1997|p=6}} Over time, the oil migrated toward the surface, became trapped beneath an impervious layer of [[caprock]], and formed a [[Petroleum reservoir|reservoir]]. The presence of upwards-curving folds in the caprock called [[anticline]]s, or sometimes an inversion of an anticline called a [[syncline]], greatly varied the depth of the reservoirs, from around {{Convert|4000|ft}} to just beneath the surface.{{sfn|Caplinger|1997|pp=4, 6}}
The majority of the oil wells in the vicinity of Pithole and the Oil Creek valley tapped into a sandstone formation known as the Venango Third sand.{{sfn|Pees|1998|p=15}} The Venango Third contained large volumes of oil under high pressure at only {{Convert|450|to|550|ft|m|-1}} below ground level.{{sfn|Pees|1998|p=15}} Other oil-producing formations in the area were "the Venango First and Second [sands], the latter often prevailing after the Third sand was lost."{{sfn|Pees|1998|p=15}} At Pithole, the "first sandstone was reached at {{Convert|115|ft|m|disp=x| [|]|0}}, the second at {{Convert|345|ft|m|disp=x| [|]|0}}, the third at {{Convert|480|ft|m|disp=x| [|]|0}}, the fourth at {{Convert|600|ft|m|disp=x| [|]|0}}, and the oil itself at {{Convert|615|ft|m|disp=x| [|]|0}}" by the Frazier Well, according to a report by the ''Oil City Register''.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=11–12}} Inaccurate numbering of the layers by the drillers, however, put the Fourth sand above the real Third at {{Convert|670|ft}}.{{sfn|Carll|1880|pp=140, 176}}
==Geography and climate==
Pithole is located in [[Northwest Region (Pennsylvania)|northwestern Pennsylvania]], {{Convert|50|mi}} southeast of [[Erie, Pennsylvania|Erie]] and {{Convert|103|mi}} [[Boxing the compass|north-northeast]] of [[Pittsburgh]]. The nearest cities to Pithole are [[Titusville, Pennsylvania|Titusville]], approximately {{Convert|8|mi}} to the northwest, and [[Oil City, Pennsylvania|Oil City]], {{Convert|9|mi}} to the southwest.<ref>{{Cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Oil City, Pennsylvania |year=1983 |scale=1 : 100,000 |series=30 × 60 Minute Series (Topographic)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite map |publisher=United States Geological Survey |title=Warren, Pennsylvania – New York |year=1983 |scale=1 : 100,000 |series=30 × 60 Minute Series (Topographic)}}</ref> Pithole is located on Pithole Road (State Route 1006), almost {{Convert|4|mi}} southwest of [[Pennsylvania Route 36]] and about {{Convert|2|mi}} east [[Pennsylvania Route 227]].<ref>{{Cite map |publisher=[[Pennsylvania Department of Transportation]] |title=General Highway Map Venango County, Pennsylvania |year=2011 |scale=1 : 65,000 |series=Type 10 |url=ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/Venango_GHSN.pdf |accessdate=April 1, 2011}}</ref>
Pithole was laid out with four primary east–west streets: First, Second, Third and Fourth. Duncan, Mason, Prather, Brown and Holmden Streets traversed Pithole from north to south. Each street was {{Convert|60|ft|m|0}} wide, except for Duncan at {{Convert|80|ft|m|0}}.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=29}} All five north–south streets terminated at First Street; Mason started at Third; Prather and Brown started at Fourth. Duncan and Holmden Streets both began at a Y-[[intersection (road)|intersection]] with the road from Titusville. All four east–west streets began at Duncan and ended at Holmden Street except for First, which extended to the Frazier Well.<ref>{{Cite map |publisher=Murdock and Hanning |date=October 1865 |title=Map showing the subdivisions of the Holmden, Hyner, Morey, McKinney, Dawson, Rooker, Blackmer, Ball, Walter, Holmden, Reynolds, Luther Wood & Copeland Farms on Pithole Creek |scale=1 = 5 [[chain (unit)|chains]]}}</ref>
July is the hottest month in Pithole, when the average high temperature is {{Convert|81|F|C|0|lk=on}} and the average low is {{Convert|57|F|C|0}}. January is the coldest month with an average high of {{Convert|32|F|C|0}} and an average low of {{Convert|13|F|C|0}}.<ref name="twc">{{cite web |title=Monthly Averages for Historic Pithole City |publisher=[[The Weather Channel]] |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/52249:20 |accessdate=February 17, 2010}}</ref> The average {{convert|44|in|mm|0}} of precipitation a year wreaked havoc on Pithole's many unpaved streets, especially the heavily traveled First and Holmden.<ref name="twc"/>{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=63}} Portions of First Street were [[plank road|planked]] or [[corduroy road|corduroyed]] in response to the resulting [[wikt:quagmire|quagmire]] of mud that would often trap wagons and [[draft animal]]s.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=27, 63}}
==History==
The area around Pithole, and modern-day Venango County, was formerly inhabited by [[Erie (tribe)|Eries]], who were eventually wiped out by the [[Iroquois]] in 1653.{{sfn|Bell|1890|pp=25–26}} On October 23, 1784, the Iroquois, which included the Seneca, ceded the land to Pennsylvania in the [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)|Treaty of Fort Stanwix]].{{sfn|Bell|1890|p=71}} Venango County was formed from portions of [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Allegheny]] and [[Lycoming County, Pennsylvania|Lycoming]] counties on March 12, 1800.{{sfn|Hottenstein|Welch|1965|p=125}} Cornplanter Township was settled in 1795 and was incorporated on November 28, 1833.{{sfn|Hottenstein|Welch|1965|p=125}}
[[File:UnitedStatesWell-PitholePA.jpg|thumb|right|[[Stereoscopy|Stereo card]] depicting the United States, or Frazier, Well|alt=Two identical photos of a street, crowded with various horse-drawn wagons, with large storage tanks on either side and oil derricks visible in the distance. The images are mounted side-by-side on a card.]]
In 1859, [[Edwin Drake]] successfully drilled the first oil well along the banks of Oil Creek, outside of Titusville in [[Crawford County, Pennsylvania|Crawford County]]. Within a half year, over 500 wells were built along Oil Creek, in the {{Convert|16|mi|adj=on}} corridor from Titusville to the creek's mouth at the Allegheny River in Oil City.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=2}} Other wells were drilled down the Allegheny towards [[Franklin, Pennsylvania|Franklin]] and upriver to [[Tionesta, Pennsylvania|Tionesta]] in [[Forest County, Pennsylvania|Forest County]]. Pithole Creek did not attract the same attention from speculators and investors, who preferred to risk their money on the tried-and-true method of drilling on flatter terrain near large rivers like the Allegheny and Oil Creek, rather than gamble on rougher terrain.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=3–4}} In January 1864, [[Isaiah Frazier]] leased two tracts of land, totaling {{Convert|35|acre}}, from Thomas Holmden, a farmer along Pithole Creek. Frazier, James Faulkner Jr., Frederick W. Jones and J. Nelson Tappan formed the United States Petroleum Company in April 1864 and started drilling what was dubbed the United States Well, or Frazier Well, in June. On January 7, 1865, the Frazier Well struck oil.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=10}}
===Boom===
Two weeks after the Frazier strike, the Twin Wells, just to the south of the Frazier Well, also struck oil. In May 1865, A. P. Duncan and George C. Prather purchased the Holmden Farm, including the portions still leased to United States Petroleum, for $25,000 and a bonus of $75,000. The wooded bluff overlooking the Frazier and Twin Wells was cleared and a town was laid out. The town was divided into 500 lots, which were put up for sale on May 24.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=29}} By July, the population was estimated to have been at least 2,000.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=32}} The population of Pithole rose to 15,000 people in September and 20,000 by Christmas.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tappan's Mushroom City |date=September 8, 1884 |format=PDF |newspaper=The New York Times |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E0CE3DA1338E033A2575BC0A96F9C94659FD7CF |accessdate=February 16, 2010 |page=8}}</ref> Pithole was incorporated as a [[borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] on November 30, 1865.{{sfn|Bell|1890|p=121}}
[[File:Pithole Holmden Street.jpg|thumb|left|View of Holmden Street from First Street]]
As many residents were temporary, Pithole had a total of 54 hotels ranging from simple [[boarding house|rooming houses]] to luxury hotels like the Chase and Danforth Houses, or the Bonta House located in Prather City on the bluff on the opposite side of Pithole Creek.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=83}} The Astor House, Pithole's first hotel, was built in one day. Construction of the hotel was especially poor; a lack of insulation and innumerable gaps in the walls made conditions in the hotel miserable during the winter.{{sfn|Tassin|2007|p=5}} At one point, the Pithole Post Office, located on the first-floor of the Chase House, was the third-busiest in the state of Pennsylvania, behind [[Philadelphia]] and Pittsburgh.<ref name="rise&fall"/> Three different churches—[[Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Methodist Episcopal Church|Methodist]] and [[United Presbyterian Church of North America|Presbyterian]]—were constructed by their respective congregations. Pithole's local newspaper, the ''Pithole Daily Record'' was started on September 5, 1865. The largest building in Pithole—the three-story, 1,100-seat Murphy's Theater—opened on September 17.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=140}} Among all the glamour, "every other building [in Pithole] was a bar".<ref name="Hirschl"/> [[Prostitution]] was rampant in Pithole, with most of the [[brothel]]s built along First Street. Although the borough council passed [[local ordinance|ordinances]] banning the sex trade and carried out [[police raid|raids]] in an attempt to enforce them, they had little impact.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=148–149}}
As oil production increased through the success of wells like the Frazier, Twin, Pool, Grant, and the two Homestead Wells, transportation of the oil to the outside world was still reliant on [[teamster]]s. The teamsters were notorious for mistreatment of their horses, most of which lost their hair due to a buildup of oil and only had a lifespan of a few months in Pithole. The high mortality rate caused a horse shortage, with more having to be brought in by rail from [[Ohio]] and [[New York]].{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=23}} Teamsters often refused to work on days when the roads were impassable or [[price gouging|gouged]] the oil producers.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=100}} Various investors, fed up with the teamsters, pooled resources and built a [[plank road|plank]] [[toll road]] from Pithole to Titusville.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=100–101}} Samuel Van Sykle, an oil buyer also frustrated with the teamsters, designed the world's first [[pipeline transport|pipeline]], which opened on October 9, 1865.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=104–105}} The {{Convert|2|in|mm|adj=mid|-diameter|0}}, {{convert|5.5|mi|km|adj=mid|-long|1}} pipeline connected Pithole to the Oil Creek Railroad and was initially able to transport {{convert|81|oilbbl|m3|lk=on|0}} per hour operating with three steam engines, equivalent to 300 [[Wheeler (team)|teams]] working a 10-hour shift.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=105}} A fourth engine brought the pipeline's maximum capacity to {{Convert|2500|oilbbl|m3|0}} a day. The Oil City and Pithole Railroad (OC&P) was opened on December 18. A second railroad was partly built but never finished, and plans for other railroads never led to construction.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=115}} Along with the pipeline, another innovation developed in Pithole was the railroad [[tank car]], which was essentially two wooden tanks, each with a capacity of {{Convert|80|oilbbl|m3|0}}, mounted onto a [[flatcar]].{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=114}}
===Bust===
[[File:Pithole Methodist Church.jpg|thumb|The site of the Methodist church in Pithole|alt=A patch of mowed grass that is indented into the ground.]]
In March 1866, a chain of banks owned by [[Charles Vernon Culver]], a financier and member of [[United States House of Representatives]] for [[Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district]], collapsed. This triggered a [[financial crisis|financial panic]] throughout the oil region, bursting the oil [[Economic bubble|bubble]]. Speculators and potential investors stopped coming to Pithole and life in Pithole settled down. In the early morning of February 24, a house caught fire and the flames were spread to other buildings by the wind.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=223}} In two hours, most of Holmden Street, and parts of Brown and Second Streets, were reduced to smoldering ashes. The worst of multiple fires occurred on August 2, burning down several city blocks and destroying 27 wells.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=171}}
When many oil strikes occurred elsewhere in Venango County in 1867, people left Pithole, often taking their houses and places of business with them or abandoning their property.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=167, 222}} By December 1866, the population had dropped to 2,000.<ref name="Hirschl"/> The newspaper was relocated to [[Petroleum Center, Pennsylvania|Petroleum Center]] in July 1868, becoming the ''Petroleum Center Daily Record''.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=224}} Both the Chase House and Murphy's Theater were sold in August 1868 and moved to [[Pleasantville, Venango County, Pennsylvania|Pleasantville]].{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=224}} Prather and Duncan sold their interests in Pithole before the downturn; Prather split an estimated $3 million with his two brothers and moved to [[Meadville, Pennsylvania|Meadville]], while Duncan returned to [[Scotland]] with his fortune.<ref name="rise&fall"/> The [[1870 United States Census]] recorded the population of Pithole as only 237. The borough charter of Pithole was officially annulled in August 1877.{{sfn|Bell|1890|p=121}} The remains of the city were sold, in 1879, back to Venango County for $4.37. The Catholic church was dismantled and moved to Tionesta in 1886; the Methodist church was kept in "usable condition" through private donations before being taken down in the 1930s.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|p=233}} A stone altar was erected and consecrated by the Methodist Episcopal Church on August 27, 1959, the centennial of the Drake Well strike.{{sfn|Darrah|1972|pp=240–239}}
==Visitor center==
[[File:Scale model of Pithole.jpg|thumb|The scale model of Pithole in the visitor center|alt=A large table enclosed in glass containing many miniaturized buildings laid out to form a town]]
The site was purchased in 1957 by James B. Stevenson, the publisher of the ''[[Titusville Herald]]'', who later served as the chairman of the [[Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission]] from 1962 to 1971.<ref name="Hirschl"/> Stevenson cleared the [[shrubland|brush]] from the site, and donated it to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1961. Today, only a few foundations and mowed paths mark the buildings and former streets of Pithole. The site of Pithole was listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on March 20, 1973. A [[walking tour]] of Pithole's {{Convert|84.3|acres}} of streets can be completed in 42 minutes.{{sfn|Pennsylvania Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks|1972|loc=§ 10}}<ref name="Love">{{Cite news |last=Love |first=Gilbert |title=Once-booming Pithole revisited in 'world's 1st oil town' museum |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Press|The Pittsburgh Press]] |date=June 22, 1975 |page=C1 |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19750622&id=_hAcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CVYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2814,1648517 |accessdate=February 17, 2010}}</ref> The visitor center was constructed in 1972.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission operates the visitor center as part of the nearby [[Drake Well Museum]], adjacent to [[Oil Creek State Park]], outside of Titusville.<ref name="etn">{{Cite news |last=Hahn |first=Tim |title=Budget constraints, construction cut Pithole visitor opportunities |date=June 6, 2010 |newspaper=[[Erie Times-News]] |url=http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010306049886 |accessdate=June 6, 2010}}</ref> The visitor center contains several exhibits, including a [[scale model]] of the city at its peak, an oil-transport wagon that is stuck in mud, and a small, informational theater.<ref name="Love"/> The visitor center is usually open, annually, from the [[Memorial Day]] weekend, at end of May, through [[Labor Day]] in September.<ref name="Hirschl"/> The season is kicked off with the annual Wildcatter Day celebration featuring music, tours, demonstrations and other activities.<ref name=WildcatterDay>{{Cite news |title=Experience oil boomtown with Wildcatter Day |url=http://www.titusvilleherald.com/articles/2014/05/24/news/doc537eb4b63980e532381621.txt |accessdate=June 1, 2014 |newspaper=Titusville Herald |date=May 24, 2014 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Q0SKGa3L |archivedate=June 1, 2014}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Pennsylvania}}
* [[List of ghost towns in Pennsylvania]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Venango County, Pennsylvania]]
* [[Oil Region]]
* [[Pennsylvanian oil rush]]
==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Bell |editor-first=Herbert C |title=History of Venango County, Pennsylvania |year=1890 |location=[[Chicago]] |publisher=Brown, Runk & Co |url=http://www.archive.org/details/historyofvenango00bell |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |last=Caplinger |first=Michael W |title=Allegheny National Forest Oil Heritage |work=[[Historic American Buildings Survey|Historic American Engineering Record]] |year=1997 |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.pa3551 |accessdate=May 24, 2010 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carll |first=John F |title=The geology of the oil regions of Warren, Venango, Clarion, and Butler counties |year=1880 |location=[[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] |publisher=Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania |oclc=5966119 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=scTZAAAAMAAJ |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Darrah |first=William Culp |authorlink=William Culp Darrah |title=Pithole, the vanished city |year=1972 |location=[[Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|Gettysburg]] |publisher=William Culp Darrah |isbn=0-913116-03-3 |lccn=72078194 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hottenstein |first=JoAnne |last2=Welch |first2=Sibyl |chapter=Venango County |title=Incorporation dates of Pennsylvania municipalities |year=1965 |publisher=Bureau of Municipal Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of Internal Affairs |location=Harrisburg |url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Venango.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=June 1, 2010 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Pees |first=Samuel T |title=Oil Creek's Riparian Wells |journal=Pennsylvania Geology |publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |date=Spring 1998 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=14–18 |url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/pub/pageolmag/pdfs/v29n1.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=February 21, 2010 |ref={{harvid|Pees|1998}}}}
* {{cite web |author=Pennsylvania Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks |title=Pithole City |work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form |date=February 24, 1972 |location=Harrisburg |publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |format=PDF |url=https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce_imagery/phmc_scans/H001207_01H.pdf |accessdate=February 15, 2010 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tassin |first=Susan |year=2007 |title=Pennsylvania ghost towns |location=[[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|Mechanicsburg]] |publisher=Stackpole Books |url=http://books.google.com/?id=KjcD_hWYOBEC |isbn=0-8117-3411-0 |ref=harv}}
{{Refend}}
==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Leonard |first=Charles C |title=History of Pithole |year=1867 |publisher=Morton, Longwell & Co |location=Pithole City}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Pithole, Pennsylvania}}
* [http://www.drakewell.org/ Official site of Pithole City and the Drake Well Museum]
* [http://www.informalyst.com/content Online archive of the ''Pithole Daily Record'']
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss6EJdGl_E4 "Pit-Hole City" (1960)], folk song about Pithole from a [[gramophone record|record]] at [[YouTube]]
{{Venango}}
{{Venango County, Pennsylvania}}
{{Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania}}
{{Featured article}}
[[Category:1877 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Former municipalities in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Ghost towns in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:History museums in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:History of the petroleum industry in the United States]]
[[Category:Museums in Venango County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Settlements established in 1865]]
[[Category:Geography of Venango County, Pennsylvania]]
{{usedwp|Pithole, Pennsylvania}}