Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1880.
The Petrolia post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Petrolia’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Petrolia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Petrolia.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Petrolia yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Petrolia is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Petrolia had a population of 179.
Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 212 to 179 (-16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Petrolia, cut from the printed page as they were published.
chased a tract of 400 acres of wild land from a man named Mall, in what is now Fairview township, the consideration being .$150. He cleared a small space, erected a log cabin twelve feet square, where the town of Petrolia now stands, and there tin's pioneer family took up their abode, being among the first settlers of this part of the county. Their nearest and most numerous neighbors were the wild animals that roamed through the forest and surrounded the cabin at night. Greensburg was the nearest trading point, the trip to that town requiring two weeks to make. Some years later Mr. Wilson erected a log
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
west of Fairview borough, built a cabin in a small clearing, to which, in 1798, he brought his wife and son, John. The latter afterward became a local Methodist preacher. John Craig settled just south of Karns City. Paul McDermott also came in 179(i. Matthew Smith settled near Petrolia, not far from the location selected later for John Harold's saw mill. William Wilson, who arrived in 1798, purchased a clearing and a cabin on the site of Petrolia, ami resided there until his death in 1839. Tames Bovard, afterwards associate judge, located near Karns City in the same year. Here he lived until 1824, when he removed into
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
just north of the spot on which the village of Argyle was afterward laid out) caused a great rush to the front. .\ large amount of territory was leased south of the new well, including the site of Petrolia and several farms surrounding it. A number of operators sunk "wild-cat" wells, which proved to be dry. but Messrs. George H. Nesbitt. William Lardin :uid George H. Dimmick, who had leased the Blaney and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Prior to tue time at which we have now arrived, the town of Petrolia. destined to be the most notable oil center of the lower region, had come into existence. When the " Fanny Jane " was struck, in April, 1S7"2. the Jamison farmhouse was the only dwelling within the present limits of Petrolia Borough, but the new and rich strik(^ was a sufficient incentive to set a number of people to building, and with the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 179 and 1,186 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Petrolia’s Wikipedia page.
The Petrolia post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (3), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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