Venango Museum of Art, Science & Industry

Name: Venango Museum of Art, Science & Industry
Address: 270 Seneca Street, Oil City, PA, 16301, US
Telephone: +18146762007
Price range: $

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Venango Museum of Art, Science & Industry

Museum located in Oil City, Pa., serving the interests of Venango County residents & visitors.

05/29/2026

Our next silent film screening will feature “Captain January,” starring Baby Peggy, one of the most popular child stars of the silent film era. The film tells the story of a young girl rescued from the sea and raised by a lighthouse keeper.

The screening will include live musical accompaniment by organist Tedde Gibson on the museum’s 1928 Wurlitzer theater organ, originally from Oil City’s Latonia Theater. This showing will also feature the short film “Carmen, Jr.”

Date: June 19
Time: Doors open at 6:30 PM, program begins at 7 PM
Get tickets here: https://www.venangomuseum.org/event-details/captain-january-1924

We hope to see you at the museum for an evening of classic films, live music, and a little local history, too!

05/27/2026

Before John Wilkes Booth became one of the most infamous names in American history, he came to Venango County chasing oil.

In 1864, Booth helped form the Dramatic Oil Company and invested in a lease on the Fuller Farm near Franklin. For a brief moment, it looked like the gamble might pay off. The company struck oil but the venture quickly collapsed, and Booth’s dream of oil wealth slipped away.

Less than a year later, Booth would enter Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., not as an actor, but as an assassin.

In this episode of A Minute in History, we explore Booth’s brief and surprising connection to Pennsylvania’s Oil Region, and how national history sometimes passes quietly through local places.

Watch Episode 9: “Actor, Oilman, Assassin.”

05/26/2026

Our Best Sandwich in the County contest is back for its 10th year!

This year is one of our biggest yet, with 17 restaurants from all over Venango County taking part.

✧ Baked Goods From Heaven - Smokehouse Melt
✧ Billy's - Green Chile Queso Burger
✧ Casey's Restaurant & Lounge - Fried Green Tomato BLT
✧ Country Grub - BBQ Pulled Pork
✧ Double Play Sports Bar - Sloppy Jane
✧ Fat Guys Pizza Deli - The Classic Steak
✧ Haggerty's Ice Cream and More (Oil City) - Pulled Pork
✧ Iron Furnace Coffee - Greek Chicken Sandwich
✧ Kings Family Restaurant (Franklin) - Morning, Noon and Night Burger
✧ Mac's Snax - Bacon Bird Dog
✧ The Office - CEO Burger
✧ Plaza Restaurant - Reuben Burger
✧ Strawberry Delight (Oil City) - Pizza Burger
✧ Stillers Meats & Smokehouse - Brisket Sandwich
✧ Valley Dairy Restaurant (Cranberry) - Chicken Rancher
✧ Wanango Country Club - Piggy Mac Melt
✧ Woods & River Coffee (Either location) - Trail Side Chicken Salad

We’re excited to start another summer filled with great local food and friendly competition. Entry cards cost $10 and give you 50% off one contest sandwich at each participating restaurant, one time per place.

The contest runs from June 1 to August 31, 2026. Entry cards are already on sale, and you can buy them at the museum’s front desk.

Try as many sandwiches as you like, get your card stamped at each stop, vote for your favorite, and bring your card back to the Venango Museum by September 19. You’ll have a chance to win a $50 gift card from this year’s winning restaurant.

You can pick up entry cards at the Venango Museum:
270 Seneca Street, Oil City, PA 16301

Thank you to all the restaurants joining us this year, and to everyone who has supported the contest over the past 10 years. We hope you’ll pick up a card, visit some local favorites, and maybe discover a new favorite sandwich or restaurant.

05/21/2026

We had such a great time last Saturday for our Silent Film Series showing of Harold Lloyd’s "Girl Shy." It was wonderful to see so many people come out, enjoy the film, grab some popcorn, and laugh together.

A big thank-you to everyone who joined us and helped make the evening feel so special, including our guest organist Ian Fraser, Robert and Andrew of Musical Restorations LLC, and our volunteers and staff.

We’re already looking forward to the next one:

"Captain January" (1924)
- Also featuring the short film "Carmen Jr." (1923)
- Friday, June 19
- Doors open at 6:30 PM
- Program starts at 7:00 PM
- Guest organist: Tedde Gibson

Bring a friend and enjoy another night of silent film, live music, and popcorn!

Get tickets here: https://www.venangomuseum.org/event-details/captain-january-1924

05/20/2026

Before Drake struck oil, someone had to prove it was worth drilling.

In this week’s A Minute in History, we look at George Bissell and Jonathan Eveleth, two businessmen who helped turn Venango County oil from a local curiosity into something investors believed could become an industry.

They didn’t strike oil themselves. But they helped make drilling for oil believable.

Watch as we explore how Oil Creek, Hibbard Farm, the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, and a scientific report helped set the stage for the Drake Well and changed the Oil Region forever.

05/19/2026

Exciting to see more progress being made on our historic Wurlitzer organ, originally from Oil City’s Latonia Theater. A lot of hard work goes into preserving and bringing this piece of history fully back to life!

05/18/2026

What happened when ordinary land suddenly looked like a fortune?

After Edwin Drake’s 1859 well, farms, creek banks, and wooded hillsides in Pennsylvania’s Oil Region began to carry a new kind of value: the possibility of oil beneath them.

In our newest blog and podcast episode, “The Ground Became a Gamble,” we explore how leases, speculation, teamsters, landowners, and reports of new strikes helped turn ordinary ground into part of a rush that changed the world.

Listen to the latest episode of Oil Region Tales and read the companion blog.

Every lease was a question. Every well was a risk. Every report of a strike carried the possibility of profit or ruin.

Read and/or listen here: https://www.venangomuseum.org/post/the-ground-became-a-gamble

05/16/2026

We expect to have a full house for tonight's silent film showing. Only a couple of tickets remain.

Please note that the museum is closed to visitors today as we prepare for this evening’s event.

For ticket holders: doors open at 6:30 PM, and the show begins at 7:00 PM. We look forward to seeing you tonight!

We cannot guarantee tickets will be available at the door. Limited tickets are available here: https://www.venangomuseum.org/event-details/girl-shy-1924

05/15/2026

Quick reminder that our silent film is tomorrow night, and only a handful of tickets remain!

We’ll be showing Harold Lloyd’s 1924 romantic comedy “Girl Shy” with live musical accompaniment by organist Ian Fraser on our 1928 Wurlitzer Theatre Organ, originally from Oil City’s Latonia Theatre.

Musical Restorations LLC has been here all week working on the organ and getting it ready for the film. We really appreciate the time and care they’ve put into it, and we’re excited to continue using the organ as it was originally intended.

Come out tomorrow night, enjoy the film, and hear the organ in action!

Limited tickets available here: https://www.venangomuseum.org/event-details/girl-shy-1924

05/13/2026

Before pipelines, before tank cars, before oil moved by rail, it moved by water.

In the early days of the oil boom, producers turned Oil Creek into a transportation route, sending loaded boats and barrels downstream toward Oil City using controlled floods called pond freshets.

But oil was not lumber. Boats collided. Barrels leaked. Crude spilled into the water. For a time, Oil Creek became a crowded, dangerous, leaking highway.

Address

270 Seneca Street
Oil City, PA
16301

Telephone

+18146762007

Website

http://www.venangomuseum.org/

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