Venango County, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Venango County
U.S. county
Venango County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Founded	September 1, 1805
Named for	Native American word for otter
Seat	Franklin
Largest city	Oil City
Area
• Total	683 sq mi (1,770 km2)
• Land	674 sq mi (1,750 km2)
• Water	8.6 sq mi (22 km2)  1.3%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	50,454
• Density	75/sq mi (29/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	15th, 16th

Venango County is a county in the state of Pennsylvania. In 2020, about 50,454 people lived here. Its main city, or county seat, is Franklin.

The county was created in 1800 and officially started in 1805. It is located in the Northwest Pennsylvania region. Venango County is also part of the Oil City, PA area, which is a smaller city area.

History of Venango County

Wells for oil along Benninghoff Run in 1866.

The Drake Well Museum in Cherrytree Township.

Venango County was formed on March 12, 1800. It was made from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming Counties. The name "Venango" comes from a Native American word, Onenge. This word means Otter.

The area was once called the Venango River. A settlement at the river's mouth was also named Venango. Today, this area is the South Side of Oil City.

The Oil Boom Era

Venango County became very important after natural oil (petroleum) was found in the mid-1850s. This led to a huge "oil boom."

George Bissell, a professor, and Edwin L. Drake, a former railroad worker, made history. On August 28, 1859, they successfully used a drilling rig near Titusville. This was the first time this was done.

Even though Titusville is in Crawford County, the first oil well was drilled very close by. It was less than a mile inside Venango County. This single well quickly produced more oil than all of Europe had since the 1650s! Soon, oil derricks were everywhere.

Other towns in Venango County that grew during the oil boom included Franklin and Oil City. Pithole City was another boom town, but it no longer exists. The main product from the oil was kerosene.

Important People in Oil History

McClintocksville was a small town in Cornplanter Township. In 1861, it was home to the Wamsutta Oil Refinery. This was the first business of Henry Huttleston Rogers. He later became a very rich and powerful businessman.

Rogers and his wife lived in a small shack there in 1862. Later, Rogers joined Charles Pratt and Company. This company was bought by Standard Oil in 1874. Rogers became a key person in John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust.

Rogers invested in many industries, like copper, steel, and railways. He became one of the wealthiest people in the United States. He also gave a lot of money to help others. He helped his hometown and supported famous people like Mark Twain and Helen Keller.

Interestingly, another person living in Venango County at the same time was a young girl named Ida M. Tarbell. Her father owned a small oil business that was hurt by Standard Oil. Later, Ida became an investigative journalist. She wrote a famous book called The History of the Standard Oil Company in 1904. Many people believe her book helped lead to the breakup of the giant Standard Oil company in 1911.

Today, Venango County remembers its oil history. There are state parks and historical sites that tell the story of the oil boom.

Geography and Nature

French Creek (left) meets the Allegheny River at Riverfront Park in Franklin.

Venango County covers about 683 square miles. Most of this is land, with a small part being water. It is part of the Appalachian Regional Commission area.

French Creek is a major waterway here. It flows for about 117 miles and joins the Allegheny River near Franklin. This creek's water comes from parts of several counties, including Venango.

Neighboring Counties

Venango County shares borders with these counties:

• Crawford County (to the northwest)
• Warren County (to the north)
• Forest County (to the east)
• Clarion County (to the east)
• Butler County (to the south)
• Mercer County (to the west)

Population and People

Age pyramid for Venango County based on census 2000 data.

In 2000, there were about 57,565 people living in Venango County. Most people (97.64%) were White. About 1.09% were Black or African American.

Many families lived in the county, with about 30.40% of households having children under 18. The average age of people in the county was 40 years old.

Population in 2020

In 2020, the population was 50,454. The majority of residents were White.

Economy and Jobs

Venango County is known as the Oil City, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. This means it's a smaller urban area centered around Oil City. In 2010, it was the 9th most populated micropolitan area in Pennsylvania.

Local Businesses

Some major employers in the past included:

• Joy Mining Machinery
• Pennzoil
• Quaker State
• UPMC Northwest
• Komatsu

Pennzoil and Quaker State moved their operations away from Venango County. They later merged and stopped refining oil. Now, they focus on selling oil and car products made by other companies.

In 2008, when oil prices were high, there was new interest in Venango County's remaining oil. Experts believed about 70% of the oil reserves had not yet been drilled. High prices make it worthwhile to get oil that is harder to reach.

Education in Venango County

Venango County, Pennsylvania public school districts.

There are several public school districts in Venango County:

• Cranberry Area School District
• Franklin Area School District
• Oil City Area School District
• Valley Grove School District

Some school districts are only partly in Venango County:

• Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District
• Forest Area School District
• Penncrest School District
• Titusville Area School District

Colleges and universities that were once in the area include:

• Clarion University, Venango Campus (closed in 2024)
• Dubois Business College (closed in 2016)
• Penn State University Venango County Co-Op Extension

Transportation

Airport

• Venango Regional Airport

Main Highways

Fun Things to Do

Pennsylvania State Parks and Forests

• Oil Creek State Park
• Cornplanter State Forest
• Clear Creek State Forest

Attractions and Tourism

• DeBence Antique Music World: A place with old musical instruments.
• Oil Region Astronomical Observatory: Where you can look at stars and planets.
• Franklin Silver Cornet Band: A local band that plays music.
• Oil Valley Film Festival: A festival that shows movies.
• Franklin Public Library: This library was started in 1894. It has been in its current building since 1921.

Towns and Communities

Map of Venango County, Pennsylvania, showing cities, boroughs, townships, and census-designated places.

In Pennsylvania, there are different types of towns. Venango County has cities, boroughs, and townships.

Cities

• Franklin (This is the county seat, the main city)
• Oil City

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

These are special areas the U.S. Census Bureau uses to collect information. They are not official towns.

• Hannasville
• Hasson Heights
• Kennerdell
• Seneca
• Woodland Heights

Other Communities

These are smaller, unofficial communities:

• Bredinsburg
• Cranberry
• Dempseytown
• Fertigs
• Petroleum Center
• Raymilton
• Siverly
• Venus

Population Ranking of Communities

This table shows the population of the biggest towns and areas in Venango County, based on the 2010 census.

† county seat

Famous People from Venango County

• Orrin Dubbs Bleakley
• Cornplanter
• William Holmes Crosby Jr.
• Hildegarde Dolson
• Frank Evans
• Gabby Gabreski
• Leon H. Gavin
• Alexander Hays
• Judge Robert Lamberton
• Ted Marchibroda
• Jesse L. Reno
• George C. Rickards
• Henry H. Rogers
• Joseph Sibley
• Peter Moore Speer
• Ida M. Tarbell
• John Wesley Van Dyke

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Venango para niños