Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 Public Domain. Release under the CC BY Attribution license--http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/--Credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library; From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Send requests to address or e-mail given USC Libraries Special Collections specol@usc.edu
Description
Photograph of California's first commercially successful oil wells in Newhall's Pico Canyon, ca.1885. The tall wooden towers of three oil wells are visible, including one in the foreground, one in the upper right corner and one in the background near the top on the image. The towers are in the bottom of the canyon, the walls of which are densely covered in small bushes. There are several wooden buildings visible, including one in the upper right corner that resembles a barn. There is a dirt path on the side of a hill on the left side of the image that leads to the bottom of the canyon. The three wells were started in 1876 by Alexander Mentry, Jd.C. Scott, and J.G. Baher. The company was known as the Star Oil Works Co., and the name was later changed to California Star Oil Works Co. F.B. Scofield bought up controlling interest.
Type
image
Format
3 photographs : photonegatives, photoprint, b&w 21 x 26 cm. negatives (photographic) photographs
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