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| Landmark #516 | Los Angeles County | Visited: July 4, 2011 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A cluster of plaques marking the site of California’s first commercially productive oil well! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: On this site stands CSO-4 (Pico No. 4), California’s first commercially productive well. It was spudded in early 1876 under direction of Demetrious G. Scofield who later became the first president of Standard Oil Company of California, and was completed at a depth of 300 feet on September 26, 1876, for an initial flow of 30 barrels of oil a day. Later that year, after the well was deepened to 600 feet with what was perhaps the first steam rig employed in oil well drilling in California, it produced at a rate of 150 barrels a day – it is still producing after 77 years (1953). The success of this well prompted formation of the Pacific Coast Oil Company, a predecessor of Standard Oil Company of California, and led to the construction of the state’s first refinery nearby. It was not only the discovery well of the Newhall Field, but was a powerful stimulus to the subsequent development of the California petroleum industry.
OTHER TIDBITS: Let’s not forget that oil was the cause of Los Angeles’ first major population explosion! This landmark is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: On W Pico Canyon Rd 3.3 mi W of I-5 Newhall, CA 91381 ANNOTATIONS: Be advised! I saw a HUGE rattlesnake on this hike, so be careful! From Los Angeles: ~35mi (57km) — 0.6hrs |
| When should I go? | The park is open every day from sunrise to sunset! |
