Listed on the National Register for Historic Places, the W. H. Smith Hardware Store in Parkersburg, West Virginia, is home to the Oil & Gas Museum. It is a treasure trove of artifacts relating to the oil and gas industry as well as several other remarkable collections. These other collections include: the greater Parkersburg’s role in the Civil War; a room dedicated to the first Boy Scout Troop in the state; collections from the other industries in the region. It also houses collections of oil field tools including cast iron kettles used as lights in the oil fields, and commercial flywheels, the steam engines that powered the drilling rigs. A collection of those lamps from the nation’s first kerosene refinery can be seen in the museum. The museum houses original portraits of the first governor and his wife, Abigail and Arthur Boreman. A mural on the side of the building depicts other Parkersburg resident’s instrumental in the creation of the first state constitution, participants in the convention and members of the first state legislature.
Group tours may be arranged by calling 304.485.5446. Private tours may be arranged for special groups and occasions and may not take place during regular operating hours. Special parking for the museum is designated for individuals and buses.
