Pithole or Bust!

Last month, PA SHPO staff and interns enjoyed a two-day educational team meeting in Venango County to learn more about archaeology, northwest Pennsylvania, and the area’s fascinating history. We were fortunate enough to have some beautiful weather and the help of our local partners and colleagues from the Jefferson County History Center, Drake Well, PHMC Sites and Museums, and the State Museum.

The goals of our outing were threefold: learn more about Pennsylvania’s archaeological history, experience first hand what our archaeologist colleagues do, and spend some time together out of the office. Continuing education for staff is an important part of our regular team meetings and this outing continued that tradition of taking us on the road to learn more about Pennsylvania’s diverse communities.

Rainbow Rocks Petroglyphs

We kicked off our meeting at the Jefferson County History Center (JCHC) in Brookville. JCHC’s Ken Burkett gave us a brief overview of the area’s pre-contact archaeology and history before leading our caravan to Rainbow Rocks, a petroglyph site deep in the forest in Rockland Township between Clarion and Franklin south of Route 332.

Ken Burkett (center, in hat) talks with us about the site.

Rainbow Rocks Petroglyphs (36VE0020) are carved on the north wall of the East Sandy Rock Shelter, part of a massive Pottsville sandstone rock formation in the Allegheny Plateau. Petroglyphs are rock carvings created by native people in the past to communicate and convey important messages.

The petroglyphs at Rainbow Rocks, which were created by pecking and rubbing at the rock with tools, include a snake figures, bird tracks, and a single human figure. The snake and bird figures are common elements in petroglyphs located in Pennsylvania but the human figure is a bit different in that it is a stick figure rather than the more full-bodied human figures found in the Upper Ohio Valley.

Petroglyphs at Rainbow Rocks. The line down the center is interpreted as a snake. Bird tracks look like arrows pointing to the bottom. They are to the left and right of the center line.

Along with the petroglyphs there are many other carvings and graffiti, some quite old (we found one from 1899!) and some more recent. I was surprised to see how much the rocks had been defaced – going back decades and decades. As I walked around the rocks with my colleagues, I could pick out everything from Snoopy in his World War I “Flying Ace” era to a deer head to an elephant.

Snoopy carved in to the rock.

Historic Pithole City

After spending the night in Franklin, we started day two at the Historic Pithole City Visitor’s Center, which is located just east of Route 227 between Titusville and Oil City. We were treated to some history and an orientation to the site where we’d be spending a few hours living the life of an archaeologist.

How could we NOT stop and get a photo at Preservation Way?

If you’re not familiar with Pithole City, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in partnership with Friends of Drake Well, I’d highly recommend taking some time to learn more about this fascinating place. I was familiar with Drake Well and Pennsylvania’s role in the modern petroleum industry but I wasn’t familiar with this oil boomtown that rose and fell in the blink of an eye.

Pithole City got its start in the summer of 1865 as people flooded into northwestern Pennsylvania following the drilling of several successful oil wells, including several along Pithole Creek. In just a few short months, Pithole City took shape over about 90 acres with frame buildings of all shapes, sizes, and functions, and was home to 15,000 people involved in the oil industry and supporting it. At the time, the Pithole City post office was the 3^rd busiest in the commonwealth behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

A busy street in Pithole City in1866.

Over the course of the next year, however, Pithole City and its residents would see an incredible reversal of fortune. Oil prices fell drastically, pipelines to transport oil left thousands of people unemployed, and devasting fires destroyed the wood buildings that had been built quickly and cheaply. By late 1866, the population had declined to 2,000 people and by the fall of 1870, only one hotel and 43 households remained.  In 1877, the land on which Pithole City had been founded was sold at sheriff’s sale.

One of the outdoor interpretive signs at Pithole.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania assumed ownership of the property in 1963 and opened the visitor’s center in 1975. Exhibits, including a large diorama, tell the history of Pithole City and the 1860s oil boom because there is nothing visible left on the property to tell the story. Some of the original street locations are mown into the fields to give visitors some sense of the historic city and interpretive panels throughout the fields provide additional history and context.

The grass that now covers Pithole is mowed to shown visitors where the major streets were once located. This photograph is looking north along Mason Street from 1st Street.

Archaeologists in Training

Our day at Pithole involved learning about two common archaeology practices – metal detecting and shovel testing – and we hoped to make some progress in locating where Murphy’s Theatre had been. The theater was the largest building in Pithole and is described as a barn-like wood structure with a plain exterior and ornate interior that seated 1,100 people.  It was moved to nearby Pleasantville in the late 1860s and again to Titusville in 1871. We set up at the southwestern corner of Pithole along what would have been First Street.

Getting our assignments for the morning.

One area was divided into transects for metal detecting. We got a chance to use our new metal detector and learn what the different sounds meant when you slowly scan the ground. The location of any beeps that sounded promising were flagged for further study. That meant that we grabbed a trowel and handheld detector to dig some holes – which mostly revealed a lot of cut nails, which you’d expect for a town of frame buildings.

Learning the metal detecting ropes.

The other area was set up for shovel testing. A one square meter area was marked off and the grass carefully removed before we started digging and sifting through shovelfuls of dirt. In the course of a few hours, we had opened several shovel test pits.

Teamwork at one of the shovel test pits.

We expected to find bits of glass, lots of nails, and possibly some personal items like buttons. We hit payday when we found an 1865 two-cent piece.  This coin was minted from 1864 to 1873 due to a shortage of coinage during the Civil War. Struck of copper-nickel alloy, it was the first coin to bear inscription “In God We Trust.” It was abolished by the Mint Act of 1873, and most of the two-cent pieces were withdrawn, melted, and recoined into one cent pieces after 1873.

Where to next?

It is safe to say that we were all tired and dirty after our two days of hiking, digging, and learning. I think we all agree that it was great to spend some time out of the office with colleagues and learn something new even though we weren’t able to confirm the location of the theater.

Group photo op at Rainbow Rocks, June 2024.

There is no doubt we’ll be off exploring another part of Pennsylvania and I’m excited to see where we go next!