Oil Museum of Canada hosts Virtual Talk with Craigleith Heritage Depot

Oil Springs, ON - Oil Museum of Canada, National Historic Site, is hosting a Virtual Talk on Thursday, May 25 beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Museum will be joined by Alessia Farris, Curator of the Craigleith Heritage Depot for the Virtual Talk, Stuck in a Rock: Oil Industry in Craigleith.

During the talk, Farris will present the geological formation that allowed for the creation of shale oil, before exploring the history of Ontario’s only successfully producing shale oil manufacturing plant, Craigleith Shale Oil. This short-lived venture operated near Collingwood from 1859 to 1863 and produced oil through a process of heating bituminous shale rock in retort furnaces. The resulting product was then refined into two grades of oil used for both lamps and mechanical lubrication. Ultimately, this process became too costly to continue operating after the quick expansion of the free-flowing crude oil industry near Oil Springs and Petrolia.

“Craigleith Shale Oil presents a fascinating example of an early competitor to the oil industry that began here in Oil Springs in 1858,” says Christina Sydorko, Educational Program Coordinator of the Oil Museum of Canada. “It is interesting to consider that innovators were trying to solve the same problems – creating light and lubricants for machinery – in parallel using similar materials yet entirely different methods. While shale oil couldn’t beat the industry here in Oil Springs in the end, it still represents a unique moment in Canadian oil history.”

Virtual talks are free, and registration is required. Learn more about Virtual Talk Stuck in a Rock: Oil Industry in Craigleith and register online.

For more information on the Oil Museum of Canada, National Historic Site, visit the museum website or follow us on Facebook.

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Please contact:

Christina Sydorko
Educational Program Coordinator, Oil Museum of Canada
County of Lambton
519-834-2840
Email Christina Sydorko