Fairbank Oil Fields

Continuously operating oil field since the 1860s

Just south of Petrolia, the Fairbank Oil Fields are still producing — small amounts of crude, but enough to keep the historic jerker-line pump systems running. The fields are private but visible from public roads, and the slow nodding of the wooden pumps is one of the strangest sights in rural Ontario.

The Fairbank family also operates the Oil Museum of Canada in cooperation with Lambton County, and the working fields are essentially an extension of the museum's outdoor exhibit.

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A story
The Fairbank family began drilling here in 1861 and the same company still operates today, on the same land. Some of the jerker-line systems that draw oil from the shallow wells are over 100 years old and still working — making this one of the oldest continuously operating oil fields in the world.