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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Petroleum Center (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Petroleum Center. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Petroleum Center ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Petroleum Center: Petroleum Ctr. (or less commonly used: Petroleum Cen., Petroleum Cent. or Petroleum Cntr.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Petroleum Center is located in Venango County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Venango County: Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Forest, Mercer & Warren.

Below are the counties that are near Petroleum Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Petroleum Center:

  • Venango County     (The home county of Petroleum Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petroleum Center, with the one closest to Petroleum Center listed first.
    • Rouseville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rouseville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rouseville
      • Rouseville is located in Venango County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rouseville <2>
    • Rynd Farm
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Plumer
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • McClintock
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Pithole City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pithole City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pithole City
      • Pithole City is located in Venango County
    • Colonial Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
      • Colonial Village is located in Venango County
    • Hasson Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hasson Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hasson Heights
      • Hasson Heights is located in Venango County
    • Oil City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Siverly
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Pleasantville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodland Heights
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Heights
      • Woodland Heights is located in Venango County
    • President
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Armstrong County
    • Parker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
      • Parker is located in Armstrong County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 793 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parker <2>
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petroleum Center, with the one closest to Petroleum Center listed first.
    • Cherry Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
      • Cherry Valley is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
    • Eau Claire
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Murrinsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Ferris
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ferris. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
      • Ferris is located in Butler County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ferris
      • From Petroleum Center to Ferris
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petroleum Center, with the one closest to Petroleum Center listed first.
    • Venus
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fryburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wolfs Corners
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
      • Pine City is located in Clarion County
    • Knox
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knox have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
      • Knox is located in Clarion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,067 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knox <2>
    • Lamartine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Iron City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
      • Iron City is located in Clarion County
    • Beaver City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
      • Beaver City is located in Clarion County
    • Elk City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Shippenville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Arthurs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arthurs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurs
      • Arthurs is located in Clarion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arthurs
      • From Petroleum Center to Arthurs
    • Leeper
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petroleum Center, with the one closest to Petroleum Center listed first.
    • Gresham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Titusville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hydetown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Fauncetown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Ash
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Tryonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centerville <2>
    • Vrooman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vrooman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vrooman
      • Vrooman is located in Crawford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Vrooman
      • From Petroleum Center to Vrooman
    • Townville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Townville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townville
      • Townville is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
    • Deckard
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deckard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckard
      • Deckard is located in Crawford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Deckard
      • From Petroleum Center to Deckard
    • Guys Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guys Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys Mills
      • Guys Mills is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guys Mills <2>
    • Cochranton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cochranton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochranton
      • Cochranton is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,063 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cochranton <2>
  • Erie County
  • Forest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Petroleum Center, with the one closest to Petroleum Center listed first.
    • Tionesta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Fagundus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fagundus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
      • Fagundus is located in Forest County
    • Trunkeyville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Balltown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Gilfoyle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Roses
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roses. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
      • Roses is located in Forest County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roses
      • From Petroleum Center to Roses
    • Redclyffe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Marienville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Mercer County
  • Warren County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Petroleum Center, see our County-by-County Page for Petroleum Center.

Cemeteries Near Petroleum Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petroleum Center.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Petroleum Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Petroleum Center, with the one closest to Petroleum Center listed first.

  • Lamey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lamey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lamey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shaw Farm Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shaw Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shaw Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grove Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grove Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grove Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jerusalem Corners Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jerusalem Corners Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jerusalem Corners Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCrea Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCrea Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCrea Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concord Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Concord Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Concord Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Memory's Acre Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Asbury Chapel Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Asbury Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Asbury Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (149 more) ...

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Petroleum Center had a population of 299 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Petroleum Center, with the one closest to Petroleum Center listed first.

  • Pioneer
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
    • Pioneer is located in Venango County
  • Rynd Farm
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Rouseville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rouseville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rouseville
    • Rouseville is located in Venango County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rouseville <2>
  • Plumer
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Cherrytree
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherrytree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrytree
    • Cherrytree is located in Venango County
  • McClintock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Pithole City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pithole City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pithole City
    • Pithole City is located in Venango County
  • Shamburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shamburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamburg
    • Shamburg is located in Venango County
  • Dempseytown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dempseytown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempseytown
    • Dempseytown is located in Venango County
  • Oil City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Oleopolis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oleopolis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oleopolis
    • Oleopolis is located in Venango County
  • Siverly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Wallaceville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallaceville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceville
      • Wallaceville is located in Venango County
    • Gresham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Eagle Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
      • Eagle Rock is located in Venango County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Petroleum Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Petroleum Center.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Petroleum Center ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petroleum Center.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Petroleum Center. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Petroleum Center and those printed in the larger area surrounding Petroleum Center.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<6> of Petroleum Center.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Petroleum Center:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Petroleum Center. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Venango County: www.co.venango.pa.us/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Petroleum Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Petroleum Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Petroleum Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5161, Longitude: -79.6823       In this case, the coordinates for Petroleum Center have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025