National Historic Landmark

Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field

San Fernando, Los Angeles County, California
Listed
November 13, 1966
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
66000212

About this property

Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oilfield, located about seven miles (11 km) west of Newhall, California, in the Santa Susana Mountains, was the first commercially successful oil well in the Western United States and is considered the birthplace of California's oil industry. Drilled in 1876, it turned nearby Newhall into a boomtown and also spawned a smaller boomtown called Mentryville adjacent to the drilling site. Well No. 4 continued in operation for 114 years until it was capped in 1990. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, and the Mentryville ghost town is now open to the public as a historic park.

Location

San Fernando, Los Angeles County, California
34.37011, -118.63203

Categories

INDUSTRYCOMMERCE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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This page lists Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
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Nearby Historic Sites

Pioneer Oil Refinery
Listed
6.4 mi
Rancho Camulos
Colonial
7.5 mi
Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village
Listed
7.5 mi
Palmer, Minnie Hill, House
Industrial
7.6 mi
Pico, Romulo, Adobe
Industrial
11.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field listed on the National Register?

Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field?

Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field?

The period of significance for Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Well No. 4, Pico Canyon Oil Field?

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