Niagara Oil Co. - 1904 dated Indiana Oil Stock Certificate

Stock.

The Niagara Oil Company of Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, played a significant role in the later chapters of the state’s historic petroleum era. Although the industry began with Edwin Drake’s 1859 Titusville strike, companies like Niagara Oil continued to explore the region’s intricate geology well into the 20th century. The company is most famously associated with the August 24, 1937, strike on Music Mountain near Lewis Run. This discovery was a “gusher”—the first of its kind in that area for nearly four decades—and was unique for its time because it was developed with a focus on measured production and modern conservation techniques to maintain field pressure.

Beyond its major strikes, the company represented the transition of the Pennsylvania oil industry from the chaotic “oil fever” of the 1800s to a more structured, corporate enterprise. Earlier in its history, around 1882, the Niagara Oil Company was also involved in seeking natural gas for commercial use, famously drilling at the McGugin farm in Mt. Pleasant Township. By participating in both the oil and natural gas booms, the firm helped sustain the economic significance of northwestern Pennsylvania long after the initial frenzy at Oil Creek had subsided.