Oil City dates to 1824, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #40 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 2,073 buildings between them. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oil City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oil City is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #40 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oil City’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oil City’s 2,193 sits above most of its state (99% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2,076 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1824.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Oil City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Oil City’s post office has been open since 1861. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Siverly's
1833–1834
Oil City
1861–today
Laytonia
1864–1871
Siverly
1887–1902
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Oliver ManorSiverly
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oil City
CalvaryGrove HillSaint Josephs
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Oil City, building by building, 1888–1913
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1796, the state of Pennsylvania gave Cornplanter, chief of the Wolf Band of the Seneca nation, 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of land along the west bank of the Allegheny River in Warren County, Pennsylvania, as well as a small tract on both sides of the mouth of Oil Creek, in compensation for his services during the American Revolutionary War. The first white settler in what became Oil City was an unknown individual who cleared and farmed about 400 acres (1.6 km2) on the west side of Oil Creek upstream from Cornplanter's land. Francis Halyday (or Holliday) purchased this land in 1803, and settled there with his family. The first white child known to be born in what became Oil City was James Halyday, born January 13, 1809. Three or four other families soon settled on the east side of the creek above the "Cornplanter Tract".
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1824, according to Wikidata. Oil City’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1870 counted 2,276 people here.
How does Oil City rank for history?
Oil City is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #40 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Oil City?
6 listings: 3 buildings, among them the U.S. Post Office (listed 1977, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Oil City Downtown Commercial Historic District, the Oil City South Side Historic District and the Oil City North Side Historic District, with 2,073 contributing buildings. 2,076 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Oil City?
59% of Oil City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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