Lights, Camera, OIL!

Illustration by Venango Museum Staff.

When Hollywood Came To The Oil Region

In 1922, Venango County became the filming location for "The World’s Struggle for Oil," a documentary produced by the Sinclair Oil Company to chronicle the early petroleum industry. Using local landscapes, expertise, and residents, the film captured the Oil Region’s history, which remains preserved in the National Archives today.

This article draws on local newspapers, county histories, and archival film records to document the Oil Region’s role in early industrial filmmaking.

On July 22, 2025, the Venango Museum hosted a silent film screening of Grandma’s Boy (1922), the classic Harold Lloyd comedy, with live music by organist Eric Cook on the Museum’s 1928 Wurlitzer organ. To celebrate another successful event in the Silent Film Series, the staff decided to look back at a special moment in local history: a movie filmed right here in the Oil Region.

You still have three chances to see a silent film at the Museum in 2025. The Black Pirate is coming in September, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in October, and Two Tars in November. Seating is limited, so you can get tickets at the Museum’s front desk or online.

In spring 1922, the Sinclair Oil Company asked local historian Edwin Bell to help find a place to film a feature-length documentary called The World’s Struggle for Oil. Also known as The World Struggle for Oil, the film told the story of the petroleum industry and people’s efforts to use crude oil. Sinclair produced the film for educational purposes and later donated it to the United States Bureau of Mines.

At first, the filmmakers considered using Drake Well as their location, but the Daughters of the American Revolution, who owned the property at the time, did not agree. So, they chose land along Cherry Run between Plumer and Rouseville, owned by Percy Beers. The Beers family had worked in oil production there since the 1860s, making it a fitting choice.

Filming happened throughout the spring and summer of 1922. To get ready, a detailed set was built to look like Drake Well during the first oil strike in 1859. Percy Beers hired local men Oma Turk, George Campbell, and Bill Fornof to build the replica. Bob Branon and Ted Foster from the Rouseville Drilling Company helped build a dam across Cherry Run to create a pond for filming. Barges, wagons, and other items from that time were added to show what life in the early oil region was like.

They worked hard to make everything authentic. A spring pole drilling rig, which was common in the 1860s, was built, and even original tools made by “Uncle” Billy Smith were used on set. Smith’s son, Sam Smith, who had worked in the oil industry since he was young, helped with construction and served as a technical consultant along with Edwin Bell. H. C. Butler, a filmmaker from New York, was hired to direct the production.

The film featured many local people. George Campbell and Oma Turk played Uncle Billy Smith and Sam Smith in scenes showing Drake’s early drilling work. Other scenes depicted life in the region, including a Seneca snake-oil peddler selling oil as medicine. To secure enough extras, Bell founded the “Drake Day Association” and invited residents to attend the filming dressed in period clothing. More than 1,000 people took part.

After filming ended, the Beers family turned the set into Beers Camp, a local resort with dining, dancing, and recreation. Over the years, it had different names, including “Morgans,” before a fire destroyed it in 1942. Later, Pennzoil bought the property for industrial use.

The World’s Struggle for Oil was only shown locally once, in 1972 at a Heritage Society event. Today, the film is preserved in the National Archives, serving as a lasting record of the Oil Region’s history and its brief time in the spotlight.

Sources

The Evening Derrick (Oil City, Pa.). Coverage of oil history events and local filmmaking, 1922.

The Franklin News-Herald (Franklin, Pa.). Local coverage of Oil Region history and cultural events.

National Archives. The World’s Struggle for Oil. Film, 1922. United States Bureau of Mines Collection.