Oil flows from natural springs in many localities. It was obtained from such springs in what is now Western Pennsylvania by the Seneca Indians, who used it for medicinal purposes. The first oil well was drilled in that region by Edwin Drake in 1859. the well was 69 feet deep and produced 15 barrels a day. The area quickly boomed and the modern oil industry was born. Later Texas and Oklahoma became the centers of US production. Following World War II the Middle East became a major supplier for US use as well.

As a fuel, oil was originally used as kerosene for lighting, replacing animal, vegetable and coal oils. It also came to be used in furnaces. Its biggest use, however, came with the development of the automobile. Today almost all forms of locomotion -- cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships and airplanes -- are fueled by oil, diesel or gasoline. Fuel oil has also been burned to produce electricity, although that has always been mostly coal's job.

AVAILABLE FUEL ADS BY DATE AND CATEGORY

Shell

1912 - The Beginning

In 1912, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group founded the American Gasoline Company to sell gasoline along the Pacific Coast, and Roxanna Petroleum to buy oil product properties in Oklahoma.

1915 – First Continuous Process Refinery

Completed in 1915, Shell's Martinez Refinery was the country's first modern, continuous-process refinery, requiring only occasional shutdowns for cleaning. For years, it served as a model for other U.S. refineries.

1921 – Signal Hill

The Signal Hill field in California was discovered by Shell in 1921. This historic strike set off an oil boom, with the good news traveling so fast that the drilling crews were forced to spend much of their time herding sightseers off the derrick floor. Signal Hill became the nation's most productive field, in terms of barrels per acre.

→ click here for Shell Ads collection

Texaco

1911 – Texaco purchased from owner of the Red Star Oil Company, one Mr. Dawkins.

1928 – Texaco became the first U.S. oil company to sell its gasoline nationwide under one single brand name in all 48 states (50 states after Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union in 1959).

1931 – The Texas Company (Texaco's corporate name) purchased Indian Oil Company, based in Illinois, a move that expanded Texaco's refining and marketing base in the Midwest and also gave Texaco the rights to Indian's manufacturing processes of Havoline "Wax Free" motor oil, which became a Texaco product and provided the company with a higher quality motor oil product.

1932 – Texaco introduced Fire Chief gasoline nationwide, a motor fuel that met the octane requirements for fire engines, and promoted it through a radio program over NBC that was hosted by Ed Wynn the "Texaco Fire Chief."

→ click here for Texaco Ads collection