Give a Year-End Gift to Friends of Drake Well, Inc.!

Dear Friend,

As another year comes to an end, we reflect on the memories we made and the goals we achieved here at Friends of Drake Well, Inc., throughout 2024. Over 16,000 visitors from across the country and around the world came to Drake Well Museum and Park this year to learn about the birthplace of the modern petroleum industry as well as to enjoy its many different programs and events. It is the goal of Drake Well Museum to continue this upward trend in visitation through its mission to uncover, preserve, and share Pennsylvania’s rich petroleum history, connecting past to present through a diversity of perspectives and inspiring its global audience to strive for a sustainable energy future.

Working together with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Friends of Drake Well assists Drake Well Museum with its mission through a myriad of ways, including but not limited to:

• Staffing – Friends of Drake Well employs two full-time staff, seven part-time and seasonal staff, and two summer interns. Included with this are our three employees who operate the Drake Well Replica every season, interpreting the history and operation of the original well site to visitors!

• Marketing – the majority of marketing and promotion for both Drake Well Museum and Historic Pithole City comes from Friends of Drake Well. Marketing to potential visitors is crucial to the ongoing success of both sites.

• Events & Programming – we assist in the planning and implementation of all events and educational programs held at Drake Well Museum and Historic Pithole City. We also provide funding for these activities, securing sponsors to help with expenses.

• Fundraising and Development – the most important task of Friends of Drake Well is its role in securing funding for Drake Well Museum and its associated sites of Historic Pithole City and McClintock Well #1. This is done through grant writing, memberships, fundraisers, sponsors, and the support of our donors!

Today, we ask for your support – help us continue the great work we do in keeping history alive at Drake Well! Please consider giving a year-end donation to Friends of Drake Well. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. For questions or for additional ways in which you can help Friends of Drake Well, please feel free to call me at (814)461-0008 or email c-emilywea@pa.gov.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a joyful 2025!

Emily M. Weaver

Executive Director, Friends of Drake Well, Inc.

Friends of Drake Well, Inc., is the 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofit organization that supports the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission in the administration and operation of Drake Well Museum and Park in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Donate to Friends of Drake Well today to help us in continuing our mission to support Drake Well's educational and outreach programs, preservation and management of its vast collections, interpretation of its story and that of the Oil Region at large through state-of-the-art exhibits, and much more.

By giving to Friends of Drake Well, you are ensuring the future of Drake Well Museum and its own mission to uncover, preserve, and share Pennsylvania's rich petroleum history, connecting past to present through a diversity of perspectives and inspiring our global audience to strive for a sustainable energy future.

The museum serves as the historical heart of Pennsylvania's Oil Region National Heritage Area and is one of 23 historic sites and museums that make up the Pennsylvania Trails of History. For over 80 years, Drake Well Museum and Park has preserved and interpreted the site of the Drake Well, chronicling the birth and development of the petroleum industry in Pennsylvania as well as its growth into a global enterprise. Visitors to the museum’s 240-acre site enjoy a board-for-board replica of Drake’s engine house built around the National Historic Landmark well, an operating central power oil lease, a standard drilling rig, 12,000 square feet of interior exhibits, and the largest artifact and archival collection focused on the birth of the modern petroleum industry. Drake Well Museum and Park also offers an abundance of year-round recreational opportunities, including paved bike trails, delayed harvest fly fishing in Oil Creek, modern picnic facilities, hiking trails, and a neighboring 9,000-acre state park.

Help us keep Pennsylvania's petroleum history alive for future generations to discover - give today!