TheDerrick.com Chronicling Gas Stations and Automobiles in Franklin & Oil City
Parts one and two online of a five-part series tracing the history of gasoline stations in Oil City and Franklin.
- Gas stations once were everywhere in town Part one, the early days, 1910s.
In the first decade of 1900, the very few automobile owners in Oil City and Franklin went to a general or hardware store - maybe Seep Brothers at 35 Seneca St. or Chambers Hardware on the South Side - for gasoline. Lugging a container, usually a bucket, the driver would stop and buy a few gallons from the shop owner who kept a small tank under a lean-to in the back. While there, the purchase of a Saltzmann brew or a confectionery or perhaps a cigar might also be made. Read full article
- Oil patch natural setting for autos Part two, gas stations and auto dealerships in the 1910s-1920s
Oil City had 20 new car and truck dealerships in 1927 in the city limits, including Chrysler at M&C Motors, Dodge at McMahon & McLane, Chevrolet at Oil City Motor, Hupmobile at Boyle Motor Co., Olds and Stutz at F.D. Walters, Studebaker at Warren Motor, Buick at Weaver's, Pontiac at Moore Motor, Willys-Knight Overland at Penn Overland, Chandler at G.L. Pressley, Hudson and Essex at Liberty Sales, Nash at Oil City Nash, Ford trucks at W.W. Jeffrey. Read full article
