Known for its prominence in the initial exploration and development of the petroleum industry, it is located at a bend in the Allegheny River at the mouth of Oil Creek.

Tourism plays a prominent role in the region by promoting oil heritage sites, nature trails, and Victorian architecture.

In 1796, the state of Pennsylvania gave Cornplanter,[4] chief of the Wolf Band of the Seneca nation, 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of land along the west bank of the Allegheny River in Warren County, Pennsylvania,[4] as well as a small tract on both sides of the mouth of Oil Creek,[5] in compensation for his services during the American Revolutionary War.

The poor quality of iron ore in the area made their operations unprofitable and the furnace closed in 1849.

For many years, the Bannons and Halydays rented rooms in their homes and space in their barns to bargemen and rafters using the landing at Oil Creek Furnace.

Settler Hiram Gordon opened the Red Lion, the area's first saloon, about the same time Hopewell's store began operation.

[11] In June 1856, 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of the property was sold by the Bell heirs to Graff, Hasson & Company.

[6] Although the village of Oil Creek Furnace was largely deserted, settlement continued in the area.

[9] With the death of his mother in 1844, James Halyday sold his land about 1846 to Dr. John Nevins and several other settlers.

[9] Edwin L. Drake drilled the first commercially successful oil well in nearby Titusville on August 27, 1859.

[13] Oil was struck on the Downing farm south of the river[12] by Phillips & Vanusdall in April 1861.

By 1868, a number of boomtowns had emerged in the region, including Oil City, Petroleum Center, Pithole, Rynd Farm,[14] and Titusville.

[9] A machine shop (which constructed pipe fittings), warehouses, and other industrial structures were built on the west side of Oil Creek.

[citation needed] In 1859, Nevins sold his property to the Michigan Rock Oil Company,[a] which built Main Avenue,[17] platted an unnamed town around it, and erected a few buildings.

[18] On March 26, 1863, Henry Bastian sold his land to William L. Lay, who established a ferry near what is now the foot of Central Avenue.

[9][b] The same year, Charles Haines and Joseph Martin bought out the Hassons (who had continued to farm their land), and graded Grove Avenue.

[17] The United Petroleum Farms Association purchased part of Cottage Hill as well as an adjoining 300 acres (1.2 km2) in 1864.

[17] In 1865, Vandergrift, Forman & Company, a petroleum exploration firm, bought the property of a number of settlers around the north landing of Lay's Ferry and established a town the company called Imperial City.

Oil City's location along the Allegheny River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains provides excellent opportunities for exploring Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Oil City is framed by the surrounding foothills with the Allegheny River winding through downtown.

The Derrick Publishing Company, locally owned, produces a general interest newspaper six days a week.

The team played in the Pennsylvania State Association from 1940 to 1942, and later moved to the Middle Atlantic League after World War II ended.

The team began in 1940 when the Pittsburgh Pirates relocated their affiliate, the McKeesport Little Braves, to Oil City.