Back in January, I embarked on a new adventure that I’m excited to share with you today! It started with a tour through the newly opened Titusville Iron Works in Titusville, Pa., and a chat with its owner about his antique vehicle collection. We quickly decided to collaborate on a museum-quality exhibit focused on a significant item in the Iron Works’ collection: a late 19th-century Rockaway carriage once owned by Charles Miller, founder of Galena Oil.
It’s no surprise that the Oil Region played a key role in the development of the U.S. transportation industry, but the depth of the story remains to be explored. This particular chapter spans from the mid-1800s and the founding of the Galena Oil Works in Franklin, Pa., to the posh pursuits of the nation’s wealthiest playboys at the turn of the 20th century. Galena’s founder Charles Miller revolutionized the railroad industry with his petroleum-based lubricant, eventually supplying the entire sector under the auspices of J.D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Miller’s son, Charles Joseph Sibley Miller, caught the speed bug as well, and brought the first automobile to Franklin. He formed a racing partnership with the car’s deliveryman, none other than Louis Chevrolet, and their work gave the U.S. one of its most innovative and enduring car manufacturers.
The photo above is a “before” shot of the exhibit space. We’ll soon have the area transformed into a true exhibit, detailing the tale of the two Millers and the impact they had on American transportation history. Stop back at the blog to see the finished project and learn more about this incredible story, or better yet see it for yourself at its debut during the Titusville Iron Works Pop-Up Shop on March 29.
The Free-Range Historian 