Pioneer Oil Refinery

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Pioneer Oil Refinery

Pioneer Oil Refinery in 1880

Location Newhall, Santa Clarita, California

34°05′40″N 118°06′28″WCoordinates:  34°05′
Coordinates
40″N 118°06′28″W

Built 1876

California Historical Landmark

Designated March 6, 1935

Reference no. 172
 Location of Pioneer Oil Refinery in the Los Angeles metropolitan area

Pioneer Oil Refinery

The Pioneer Oil Refinery was the first successful oil refinery in California, built

in 1876. The Pioneer Oil Refinery was designated a California Historic
Landmark (No.172) on March 6, 1935. The Pioneer Oil Refinery is located is in
what is now the Newhall, Santa Clarita, California in Los Angeles County at
23864 Pine Street, Newhall, California. Pioneer Oil Refinery is the oldest existing
refinery in the world. The Lang Southern Pacific Station railroad line served the
Pioneer Oil Refinery.
Pioneer Oil Refinery was built by California Star Oil Works, that became part of
Standard Oil of California and then part of Chevron. Chevron still owns the
Pioneer Oil Refinery land. Chevron has plans on the table to restore the site.
Some of the original parts of the refinery were taken away after it closed in 1884,
some to museums and other parts to private collectors. The large kettles used to
refine the crude oil in to kerosene and benzene are still on the site, along with an
old wooden drill tower. Chevron still give some tours of the site. [1] [2]

Marker[edit]
Marker on the site reads:[3]

 "NO. 451 THE ORTEGA-VIGARE ADOBE – Erected during mission days,

1792–1805, this is the second oldest adobe in this region. Originally 'L'-
shaped, it is now only half its original size. In 1859, the adobe became the
property of Don Jean Vigare and in the early 1860s, as San Gabriel's first
bakery, it was separated from the mission's lime orchard by a high cactus
wall."
 Pioneer Oil Refinery is also listed on the sites of Historic Mechanical
Engineering Landmarks as site No. 8.

See also[edit]
 Pico Canyon Oilfield
 California Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County
 List of California Ranchos
  History of oil in California through 1930
 Ranchos of Los Angeles County, California
 Petroleopolis
 D. G. Scofield pioneer of the oil business in California

References[edit]
1. ^ Cal, Parks Marker, 172, Pioneer Oil Refinery
2. ^ Revered Refinery : Landmark: Preservationists like Pioneer Oil because of its
historical significance. LA Times, Others like it because, as one said, ‘it’s old and it doesn’t
work.’ , By STEVE PADILLA, Dec. 23, 1990
3. ^ californiahistoricallandmarks.com 451

Categories: 
 California Historical Landmarks
 1876 establishments in California