Oil Industry CD's and DVD's
Oil Boom! Music to Celebrate the Canadian Quest for Oil (CD)
- Bernie Gilmore (released 2008) to preview the cd, click here
Fairbank Oil Properties and the Oil Museum of Canada are pleased to announce the release of a new musical CD – OIL BOOM!, a collection of songs and music written for 2008 Celebrate - a commemoration of 150 years of unique oil heritage.
This CD features original songs composed by Strathroy Ontario singer/song-writer Bernie Gilmore a folk roots artist whose songs have been played on CBC Radio and a number of community based radio stations such as CIUT – FM Radio for the University of Toronto and CHRW – FM University of Western FOR THE FOLK.
Bernie’s compositions reflect the joys, struggles and humour connected with oil discovery and oil boom in Enniskillen Township in the 1860’s. Bernie’s song BLACK GOLD with haunting chorus “black gold for miners of oil” describes the passion with which early oilers worked the mucky soil in search of this treasure.
EDNA/HENRY is a humourous spin on the romantic relationship between 1860’s oil baron John Henry Fairbank and his wife Edna. THE SHAW GUSHER depicts the first oil gusher in Canada, brought in by Hugh Nixon Shaw the morning of January 16t 1862 in Oil Springs, Ontario.
All songs have been carefully crafted by this talented singer/songwriter and are beautifully cradled by the thoughtful instrumental work of violinist Sandra Swannelle of Tanglefoot, Shaman Ayerhart, a brilliant young dobro/mandolin player from London Ontario and the Gordon brothers Geordie and Evan from Guelph, Ontario. The CD is produced by award winning singer/songwriter/producer, James Gordon (price: $15.24*)
Sarnia-Lambton: Just Passing Thru (DVD)
- The Living History Multimedia Association (released 2006)
The Living History Multimedia Association, in collaboration with Heritage Sarnia-Lambton is proud to present this feature length introduction to the exciting history of Sarnia-Lambton. Through interviews, re-enactments and hundreds of historical photographs and films we explore: Three Fires Confederacey, French Settlers, Maxwell Settlement, Malcolm Cameron, Alexander McKenzie, Oil Springs, Bootjack Mary, Drainage, Wilkesport, Petrolia, St. Clair Tunnel, Chemical Valley, Arkona Fossils, Kettle Point, Foreign Drillers, Grand Bend, Pinery Park, Bluewater Bridge, Polymer, Stoney Point, Walpole Island, and many more.....These stories are told by the local historians who know them best!
Released 2006 (price: $19.99*)
The Spark that Ignited the World (DVD)
- Avolution Multimedia (released 2008)
A 16 minute DVD relating Lambton County's unique oil history & heritage that gave birth to the modern oil industry. Includes Bernie Gilmore singing his song 'Letter from Java' which is set to images from around the world taken by the Foreign Drillers - those men from Lambton County and who travelled the world and used their local oil expertise to search for black gold!
Released 2008 (price: $15.24*)
Oil Industry Books
Hard Oiler!
The Story of Early Canadians’ Quest for Oil at Home and Abroad
- By Gary May (published 1998)
With their expertise gained in Oil Springs and Petrolia, the “Foreign Drillers” helped open oil fields in more than 50 countries around the world in a 70-year time period.
270 pages. Published by Dundurn Press. 1998 (price: $22.99*)
Petrolia Ontario- Canada
150 years, 1854-2004
- By Edward Phelps, Charles Whipp and Lee Pethick (published 2004)
The oil boom that started in 1866 lasted more than four decades, making Petrolia the oil capital of Canada. From the days of Imperial Oil’s headquarters here to the need to diversify the town’s economy, this book covers a lot.
187 pages. Published by VanTuyl and Fairbank, Inc. 2004 (price: $29.95*)
The Story of Fairbank Oil
Four Generations of the Family Producing Oil Longer Than Anyone in the World
- By Patricia McGee (published 2004. Second printing 2006)
Using the Fairbank family documents, photographs, maps and many interviews this book tells the story of how The Fairbank family has been pumping oil on this Oil Springs property since 1861. Today, it’s a National Historic Site and it continues to pump 24,000 barrels a year using the technology of the pioneers.
201 pages. Published by Words Unlimited Ink. (price: $23.95*)
Rivers of Oil
The Founding of North America’s Petroleum Industry
- By Hope Morritt (published 1993)
Starting in Oil Springs, the book traces the development of oil in Lambton County, the establishing of Imperial Oil and the rise and fall of Canada’s first oil barons.
194 pages. Published by Quarry Press. (price: $19.99*)
19th Century Petroleum Technology in North America
- By Dr. Emory Kemp and Michael W. Caplinger (published 2008)
This book not only describes and lavishly illustrates the early Canadian technology in Oil Springs and Petrolia; it also places these developments in the broader context of the world. 179 pages. Sponsored by the Charles Fairbank Oil Properties, Ltd. Petrolia, Canada and the Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaelogy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.A., Printed by Browns Graphics, Petrolia. 179 pages. (price: $30.00*)
The Oil Heritage Tour of Lambton County:
The Birthplace of the Canadian Oil Industry
- By Robert O. Cochrane and Charles O. Fairbank (published 2000)
With geological charts and detailed descriptions of the early oil technology and some architectural history, this book showcases the interesting stops to make in Oil Springs and Petrolia. 86 pages. (price: $20.00*)
Oil Springs…The Birthplace of the Oil Industry
- By Michael O’Meara (published 1958. Second edition 2008)
Written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of James Miller Williams establishing the world’s first commercial oil well and refinery, the author captures all the colour and exhilaration of North America’s first oil boom town. 30 pages. Browns Printing and Graphics Inc., Petrolia.23 pages. (price: $4.95*)
Oil Road and Toll Gates: A Short History of Plank Road
- By Maxine McBryan. Research by Betty Lou Snetselaar (2000)
The Plank Road was a key transportation route for shipping oil from the swamp land of Oil Springs to Sarnia. It has a long and colourful past. Published by the Lambton County Historical Association. 26 pages. (Price: $5.00*)
A History of The Chemical Industry in Lambton County
- By R.W. Ford (published in 1964. Fourth edition in 2000)
The chemical history begins in Oil Springs and it was in 1857 when James Miller Williams started his first refinery. Ford traces the development of Imperial Oil from Petrolia to Sarnia and all the petrochemical companies that sprang up at the beginning of World War II. The story is updated to the 1990s.Produced with support form the Society of Industrial Archeology and the Sarnia-Lambton Environmental Association. 24 pages. (price: $4.95*)
Tunnel Tales - The St. Clair Tunnel 1891 - 1991
- By Wanda Pratt
Details the history of the St. Clair Tunnel, Sarnia. (price: $8.00*)
* All prices are plus Shipping and GST. Please see order form for details. The Oil Museum accepts VISA and personal cheques.