Tri County Arts Council

Olean, Cattaraugus County

Bolivar (pronounced like “Oliver) is a village of about 2,300 people located along the Pennsylvania border in Allegany County. Often referred to as the heart of "Pioneer Oil Country," Bolivar gained national prominence during the regional petroleum boom of 1881 and was briefly recognized as one of the wealthiest communities per capita in the United States. To this day, Bolivar’s historic identity remains tightly interwoven with its industrial petroleum legacy, and its Pioneer Oil Museum is the only museum of its kind in the entire state.

View the Council's Website

The Spark

Faced with unsafe streets and a declining downtown, Olean began rethinking how its city center could work for people.

By the mid-1960s, local oil producers recognized that the machinery, documents, and stories of New York's once-booming oil industry were disappearing. Concerned that this unique heritage would be lost, members of the New York State Oil Producers Association (NYSOPA) convinced their colleagues to establish the Pioneer Oil Museum to preserve and share the region's oil history with future generations.

This idea was proposed at NYSOPA’s 1964 annual clambake, and the instigator, John Hogan, offered a building he owned at the corner of Main and Liberty Streets for the space. Constructed in 1851, the structure had previously housed a cigar factory, cobbler shop, broom factory, Chinese laundry, grocery store, dry goods store, mitten factory, and hardware store. To launch the museum, NYSOPA contributed $1,000 (equivalent to approximately $10,000 today).