2008 Celebrate Media Release April 24, 2008
Advisory Group Focuses on Global Importance of Oil Springs
Experts in national and global heritage are impressed with the oil heritage preserved in Oil Springs, the tiny village 30 km. southeast of Sarnia where the first commercial oil well was dug in 1858.
For the first time, the Canadian branch of an international organization of professionals dedicated to conserving the world’s historic monuments and sites (ICOMOS Canada) held its spring “Black Gold” symposium in Oil Springs on the weekend. Approximately 40 delegates from Quebec and Ontario attended along with experts from U.S. universities. This is the same organization that studied the Rideau Canal before it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in June, 2007.
ICOMOS Canada organizer Ian McGillivray says he believes all early objectives were met. “We explored the value of the Oil Springs from many different viewpoints such as early aboriginal history, the history of the fields since the first oil pit, the significance of the people from many walks of life, as well as the place of the fields in local, regional, provincial, national and international contexts.”
“I think we found the ‘spirit of the place’ then and now,” McGillivray added. “In the wrap-up, we looked at the management side of the property and what will be required to take this historic site into the future.” The symposium was very fruitful according to McGillivray. “My impression is that we met another objective which is just as important - we brought professionals into the field to meet and work with the community and in doing so, the community shared their experiences and learned about the broader context of their heritage and the professionals shared and learned as well. The community spirit was shared by all.” “It was the most exciting symposium I have ever attended,” said Charles Fairbank of Oil Springs. “We had academics, heritage consultants, The Ministry of Culture, Parks Canada, the head of ICOMOS Canada and the secretary general of ICOMOS International. Discussions were exhilarating because they focused on the global significance of Oil Springs for humanity.”
Operating for four generations, the Fairbank family has been pumping crude longer than anyone on earth. His oil property dates back to 1861 and its 350 wells continue to pump 24,000 barrels of oil annually using the pioneer technology. Life-sized metal sculptures dot the property with vignettes of oil production. Fairbank Oil Properties has already been declared a National Historic Site.
The ICOMOS Canada group toured a number of historically significant sites at Fairbank Oil Properties including the site of Canada’s first gusher, the hand-dug wells of the early 1860s, and the only remaining oil receiving station.
The symposium marked the 150th anniversary of the first commercial oil well in North America. This is the well that changed the world. When James Miller Williams made producing oil a business in 1858, the modern oil industry ignited. This site is now The Oil Museum of Canada, a National Historic Site.
“The potential of securing a World Heritage designation holds huge implications for Lambton County tourism in the future,” says Robert Tremain, Supervisor-Curator of Lambton County Museums. “The symposium was extremely gratifying for our community heritage supporters…to hear outside experts enthuse about the unique aspects on a global scale of Lambton’s oil heritage. The fact that Lambton County hosted this symposium may very well prove in years to come to be a key milestone in the sharing of our oil heritage story with Canada and the world.”
“Oil Springs is unique,” said local organizer Robert Cochrane of Cairnlins Resources. “It is the oldest oilfield in North American and continues to pump oil with 19th-century technology.”
The symposium has fuelled a new higher sense of purpose and direction in Lambton’s Oil Heritage District. It has also given a strong sense of the vast amount of work that needs to be done to get the oil story known internationally. An ICOMOS report will be issued with a range of next steps.
The symposium included the launching of the book, 19th Century Petroleum Technology in North America, by Dr. Emory Kemp of West Virginia University. Another key speaker, Dr. Patrick Martin of Michigan Technical University, spoke on Industrial Heritage from an International Perspective.
On May 2, Oil Springs will be rolling out the welcome mat for Canada Post officials who will be unveiling a new 52-cent stamp commemorating the first commercial oil well of 1858.
For more information about the 150th anniversary events can be found at www.2008celebrate.com
For more info on this release Contact Pat McGee pat.mcgee@ciaccess.com
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