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Oil Boom Fashion
- Aug 9
- 5 min read
In 1865, J. H. A. Bone offered simple advice to those visiting the Oil Region in Pennsylvania in his guidebook:
“Wear such clothing as will excite no regrets should they be covered with mud or grease, as they inevitably will.”¹
Bone’s tips went beyond just clothing. He suggested bringing long waterproof boots, a light travel bag, a blanket, and some emergency food to make the trip easier. If someone couldn’t handle the mud, rough roads, bad meals, and uncomfortable places to stay, Bone said they might be better off having dinner in Meadville and catching the first train home.¹
Bone didn’t see dressing for the Oil Region as a matter of fashion. Instead, it was about wearing clothes you wouldn’t mind ruining. Still, fashion eventually made its way to the booming region.
Dressed for the Road
Bone’s advice became clear once travelers arrived in Oil City. He described Oil City as having a single long, winding street, slippery plank sidewalks, and mud so deep that he joked people wore knee boots even indoors. While Bone exaggerated for humor, another account from the time also mentioned the severe mud. The paths these visitors took could be very hard to cross.¹
An 1865 article in The Atlantic Monthly painted a similar scene. The writer described horses sinking so deeply that only their backs could be seen. On Oil City’s main street and at the main hotel entrance, she wrote, the mud reached above the wagon wheel hubs.
The group then stopped at the Petroleum House hotel.² Inside the hotel, though, she saw something different: a woman in a “soiled print dress and much jewelry.”² The account doesn’t say how the dress got dirty. Instead, it highlights the contrast between the soiled dress and the flashy jewelry in the hotel parlor. So, rough conditions and displays of fashion could be found together in the same place.
Fashion Followed the Boom
In 1866, John J. Carter promoted his “Emporium of Fashion,” which had stores in Titusville and Petroleum Centre. The ad attracted customers in two ways. They could buy ready-made clothes from the store or look at fabric samples and order something custom-made. Carter also advertised hats, caps, and other men’s items, all tied to what he called the “latest styles.”³
This was a big change from Bone’s earlier warning. Bone had told visitors to bring clothes they didn’t mind getting muddy or greasy. Carter, on the other hand, brought fashion to those same oil towns. The store sold ready-made clothes, but also gave customers choices. People could look at samples and order custom garments instead of just buying what was already on the shelves.
The ad also claimed its prices were as good as those in eastern markets. This was just marketing, not a proven fact. Still, it shows how Carter wanted people to see his stores. He didn’t want the stores to seem cut off from the rest of the world. Instead, he wanted them to bring the wider world into the Oil Region.
A Clothing Store in Petroleum Centre
Carter’s Petroleum Centre business was operated with Joseph H. Hitchcox under the name John J. Carter & Company. Charles H. Harris wrote that Hitchcox, associated with J. Carter & Company’s Titusville business, moved a large stock of goods to Petroleum Centre in April 1866 and that a store was erected there.³
Harris spoke very highly of the business, describing it as big, well-stocked, and popular with local shoppers. But in this part, his words sound more like advertising than neutral reporting. So, his praise shouldn’t be taken as proof of the store’s size, popularity, or success. Still, the main development is important.
By 1866, Petroleum Centre had a store focused on ready-made clothes, hats, caps, custom garments, and men’s accessories. This clothing store became part of the growing business scene around the oil wells. Petroleum Centre was now more than just a place for drilling. It had turned into a market.
Ready-Made and Custom-Made
Carter’s ad also shows how people in the Oil Region got their clothes. Ready-made clothing let customers buy clothes that were already made. Carter’s custom department gave another option: people could pick from samples and order clothes made just for them.
We still don’t know what Carter charged for a shirt, coat, or full suit. We also can’t say how affordable custom clothes were for regular workers. Carter’s claim about eastern prices doesn’t answer those questions.
But the ad does show that both types of clothing stores existed at the same time. Some people could buy finished clothes right off the shelf. Others could choose samples and order clothes made just for them.
Carter’s ad made the stores seem like part of a bigger fashion market. By comparing prices with “eastern markets,” the business showed it was connected to bigger commercial centers outside the Oil Creek Valley. That claim shows how Carter marketed his stores. It doesn’t prove where all the clothes were made or how the prices really compared. Oil brought people to the region. Those people then needed almost everything else.
More Than Protection
Clothing kept people safe from the weather, dirt, and rough ground. It also helped them present themselves to others. A strong pair of boots could help someone get through a muddy street. A clean shirt, a tailored jacket, a hat, or some jewelry could help someone look respectable, successful, or stylish. Historical sources talk about different people and places.
Bone spoke to travelers coming into the region. Carter advertised to people in Titusville and Petroleum Centre. Harris said Hitchcox’s shop was especially popular with young men in the area. Clothing could meet practical needs and also help shape how others saw a person. The oil boom didn’t make appearance unimportant. It just made it harder to keep up.
The Latest Styles and the Inevitable Mud
Clothing in the early Oil Region had to balance two realities. The first was practical: mud, oil, and grease were everywhere, and Bone thought visitors should expect their clothes to get dirty.
The second was social. Merchants still advertised hats, ready-made clothes, custom tailoring, and the latest styles. Carter’s stores compared their prices to those in eastern markets and tried to offer more than just practical clothing.
A guidebook told visitors to dress for mud. A local ad offered an Emporium of Fashion. That might be the best answer to what people wore in the Oil Region. Clothing changed depending on work, travel, money, and the occasion. No matter how carefully someone dressed, the tough conditions of the boom were always close by.
A merchant could promise clothing in the latest style, but the street might cover it in mud before the customer even crossed it.
Discover more stories from the Oil Region at the Venango Museum in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
Sources
Bone, J. H. A. Petroleum and Petroleum Wells: What Petroleum Is, Where It Is Found, and What It Is Used For; Where to Sink Petroleum Wells, and How to Sink Them. With a Complete Guide Book and Description of the Oil Regions of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1865. See especially printed pages 52–53 and 80.
“Adventures of a Lone Woman.” The Atlantic Monthly 15, no. 90, April 1865, 385–406.
Harris, Charles H. History of the Venango Oil Regions, and Other Places of Note in the Oil Regions. Titusville, Pa.: Titusville Morning Herald Office, 1866. See the John J. Carter advertisement and printed page 55.
Portser, William J., photographer. [Oil Tank and Workers]. Pennsylvania, between 1860 and 1870. Stereograph. Marian S. Carson Collection, Library of Congress.
Portser, William J., publisher. Leroy Well. Pennsylvania, 1860s. Stereograph. Marian S. Carson Collection, Library of Congress.
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