Oil Museum of Canada

06/23/2026

Heads up! The Oil Museum of Canada will be closed on Wednesday, July 1 for Canada Day.

Visit us when our regular hours resume on Thursday, July 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. We're also open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! Add some unique history to your holiday weekend plans - we can't wait to see you!

06/20/2026

The Hard Oiler's are returning to their roots and finding themselves all over the museum grounds, in historic buildings and checking out their artifacts on display! Can you spot our friend?

Comment an oil drum emoji down below when you do🛢️

06/19/2026

Black Gold Fest is only one month away and we are looking for volunteers to join our event day crew! All volunteers will receive a food voucher as a token of our appreciation, so if you or someone you know is interested, please complete our volunteer application form now: https://forms.lambtonmuseums.ca/Oil-Museum-of-Canada/Volunteer-Application

06/18/2026

STICKERS!

Our loveable museum doodle is now available in sticker form for purchase.

Each 5 1/2" X 4" sticker sheet includes 7 kiss cut stickers featuring visitor favourites (ladies holding their noses saying "Pew"), and staff favourites (horse and oil wagon).

The museum gift shop is open Wednesday - Sunday during museum hours.

06/17/2026

These statues from Peru once belonged to John Braybrook.

John was born in Marthaville and went to school in Petrolia.

He followed his brother Raymond into the oil industry and became an International Driller. He started working in Canada, then travelled to South America, and was employed by three different oil companies during his career.

His wife Vola was no stranger to oil either. Daughter of oil man Henry Gregory, she accompanied John on some of his travels, including Venezuela and Peru.

Braybrook worked for Royalite Oil Co. in Turner Valley, Alberta from 1929 to 1930. From there, he went on to work for Tropical Oil Co. in Colombia from 1930 1943.

The camp he worked at in El Centro, Colombia had been bulldozed out of the jungle. It was located in a valley with 400 miles of jungle stretching out in each direction around it.

After his time in Colombia, Braybrook returned to Canada and worked for International Petroleum Co. from 1944 to 1946 in Toronto. From there, he went back to South America, working in Peru from 1947 to 1949.

John and Vola sent home a number of mementoes and cards from their travels. These included butterfly and moth collections, Christmas cards, Peruvian figurines, and a preserved tarantula.

The couple eventually returned to Petrolia to stay.

To learn more about John and his career, check out his story on our International Oil Drillers website: https://loom.ly/KFWvaRQ

06/15/2026

Be careful not to get too close to this kerosene heater or you might burn your nose!

Before gas-powered engines became widespread, one of the primary uses for crude oil was the production of kerosene. This versatile fuel was used for lighting, as well as for cooking and heating homes. It remained especially important in rural areas, where electrification arrived later.

Even after electricity became common, portable heaters like this one were still used to warm chilly rooms.

06/13/2026

Dig up more fun and discovery with an Oil Museum of Canada membership!

Membership opens doors to unique experiences and special perks. For just $20 for an individual or $30 for a family, you'll receive a one-year membership that includes:
💧Unlimited general admission to the Oil Museum of Canada, National Historic Site
💧Free entry to every Heritage Sarnia-Lambton museum when you show your membership card
💧Access to the 'Lambton Musings' newsletter
💧10% discount in the gift shop
💧Invitation to special events

Become a member today: https://loom.ly/2WYg9_w

06/11/2026

Our students at the museum are always discovering and learning new things from our collections. Here is something that Jesse found interesting:

when I learned...

that the story was often told about the driller of the first oil gusher in Canada may be false…

Before a study done in 2010 by Dana Thorne (now curator of the Lambton Heritage Museum), the consensus was that Hugh Nixon Shaw - an Irishmen connected with J. H. Fairbank – drilled the first oil gusher in Canada.

Johnson showed that the driller was more likely an American photographer named John Shaw, giving credit to a figure that, for a time, had remained mostly anonymous.

Before Hugh was revised to John in the historical record, the former's story had assumed the form of a veritable historical drama.

Being enriched and embellished over the years, Hugh's narrative took the form of a classic rags to riches tale: he came from humble beginnings and was brought to such dire straits before making his discovery that he was unable to get the credit to purchase shoes!

The story was that in spite of this, Hugh found eventual success, discovering the first gusher on his last day drilling before he planned to quit. Hugh received a small fortune once thought unattainable and achieved widespread renown among a community of oil drillers who once ridiculed his attempts.

Despite his success, Hugh would tragically fall from his state of prosperity to the lowest of lows. Mere days after being offered a large sum of money for one of his wells, he died from asphyxiation from noxious gasses inside the very same well. He died only a year after the discovery of the gusher and the community of Oil Springs greatly mourned his passing.

However, we now know that the above narrative is untrue, or at least it doesn't accurately characterize the driller of the first Canadian gusher.

This title more likely belongs to John Shaw. But what of his story? We know that he also came from humble beginnings and was nearly hopeless and without credit upon striking the first gusher. However, John Shaw did not see the eventual success that normally characterizes a rags-to-riches story and derived no permanent benefit from his discovery.

Additionally, John Shaw did not meet the same grand and tragic end as Hugh, but rather faded slowly into obscurity, passing away in 1871 (9 years after the first gusher).

While historians may rightly characterize John Shaw as the more probable driller of the first Canadian gusher, it is another question as to whether this new story will catch on as well as Hugh’s has.

Will it ever acquire the air of grandiosity that Hugh’s so often claims? I certainly find John Shaw's story as inspiring as Hugh's - if not more; however, I will leave this question up to any interested readers to speculate on in the comments!

06/09/2026

06/05/2026

Get ready for the return of Museums on Air!

On Saturday, June 20, the Lambton County Radio Club will be here using their short-wave radios to connect with other radio enthusiasts at museums around the world. In previous years, the group has reached museums as far away as Northern Ireland and Argentina.

Visit the Museum between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to see them in action!