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Name:
Joseph Reid Gas Engine Company
Region:
Lake Erie Region
County:
Venango
Marker Location:
Intersection of Main Street (PA 8), Halyday Street & Petroleum Street, Oil City
Dedication Date:
October 10, 1997
Behind the Marker
Initially oil was pumped from wells by water wheels, steam, and mules. Drake used a hand-pitcher pump, similar to a hand-operated well water pump. By the 1880s steam-powered pumps had arrived in the oil region and were commonly in use. In the 1890s natural gas, tapped from oil wells, was used to power pumping engines pioneered by the Joseph Reid Gas Engine Company. An engine, pulley, belt, and gears comprised the new pumping technology, powered by natural gas.
An inset portrait of Joseph Reid and a larger etching of his single piston engine.
