American
Oil & Gas
Historical Society
About Us
Petroleum history provides context for understanding today’s energy challenges.
The American Oil & Gas Historical Society (AOGHS) preserves U.S. petroleum history, which began in August 1859 with the first commercial U.S. well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. AOGHS offers energy education resources, including links to community oil and gas museums, county historical societies, libraries, and others dedicated to material preservation.
Latest Popular
Articles & Updates
This Week in Petroleum History: July 27 – August 2
July 27, 1918 - Standard Oil of New York launches Concrete Tanker America's first concrete vessel designed to carry oil, the Socony, left its shipyard at Flushing Bay, New York. Built for the Standard Oil Company of New York, the barge was 98 feet long with a 32-foot beam...
Petroleum Survey discovers U-boat
Routine seabed scan for new pipeline revealed Nazi sub less than one mile from its last victim. During World War II, U-boats prowled the Gulf of Mexico to disrupt the flow of oil carried by tankers departing ports in Louisiana and Texas. Sixty years later, seabed...
Zebco Reel Oilfield History
Oilfield service provider Zero Hour Bomb Company introduced its "cannot backlash" fishing reel in 1949. Zebco oilfield history began well before 1947 when Jasper R. Dell Hull walked into the Tulsa offices of the Zero Hour Bomb Company. The amateur inventor from...
Education Centers & Resources
Research Forums
Atlantic Refining Company Publication
A family has preserved its connection to U.S. refining history and is seeking a home for its 1921 company booklet. The grandfather, George Edward Cooper (pictured in the publication), worked for Atlantic Refining Company, which later became ARCO.
Question about Oilfield Storage Tanks
“My family has a farm in western Pennsylvania and once had a small oil pump on the land. I’m trying to learn how the oil was transported from the pump. I know a man came in a truck more than once each week…” — Lauren.
Family donates L.A. Photography
Photos of a father’s years as an employee of the Los Angeles Harbor authority, Valerie Raynor led to the American Oil & Gas Historical Society finding a home for them at a California museum.
History articles & Helpful links
Category Topics
Petroleum Artifacts & Memorabilia
Pages for posting questions, comments, and advice and for researchers, preservationists, and collectors seeking information about the history of artifacts relating to exploration and production technologies, petroleum products, transportation, storage, retail sales, and MORE.
Oil & Gas Families: Personal Stories
Have a family heirloom or other artifacts relating to petroleum history? Many community oil and gas museums can help preserve personal and professional stories…MORE.
Photography & Video Collections
The history of American radio, TV, and film offers portrayals of the U.S. petroleum exploration, production and transportation industries. Many public domain archives provide free access…MORE.
Preserving Old Photographs
The care, handling, and storage of photographs: How to preserve your photographic prints from all eras of photography (and negatives)..MORE.
"Is My Old Oil Stock worth Anything?"
A Q&A forum for sharing details about old and often obscure petroleum stock certificates, many from the early 1900s. Before posting, review our updated business histories of hundreds of old oil and natural gas companies..MORE.
Preserving Audio/Visual Recordings
The Library of Congress offers tips for preserving optical discs, magnetic tape, and other materials with inherent chemical instabilities. Good storage is especially critical to the preservation of these materials….MORE.
History of oil and Gas
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