View of the Pioneer Oil Refinery, located in Newhall of the Santa Clarita Valley, which operated from 1876 to about 1888.; Located on Pine Street in Newhall, the refinery dates back to approximately 1876, when driller Alex Mentry broke ground in Pico Canyon and Chinese track layers were hammering rails through Henry Newhall's recently-purchased rancho. The little 15-barrel still that had been erected in 1874 at Lyon's Station (now Eternal Valley Cemetery) just wasn't working out. It couldn't produce a smoke-free kerosene -- oil's major use in those days -- and in 1875 it was shut. Besides, it was almost a mile away from the coming railroad.
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