NORMAN NO. 1
OIL WELL AND MUSEUM
NORMAN NO. 1
OIL WELL AND MUSEUM
In 1892 the Neodesha Norman derrick number one erupted with an oil geyser that quickly pulled the little town of Neodesha, Kansas, into the future of the nation, gasoline! The well was the first commercially successful oil well west of the Mississippi and was quickly followed by other strikes in Oklahoma and Texas. This one well shaped the city of Neodesha for many years to come. It produced crude oil commercially until almost 1919. The refinery, built by Standard Oil Company to process the area crude, operated until about 1970, when it finally closed down. Again, the city was thrown into a new role, that of converting, with the help of Amoco, the refinery property into a thriving business park. The well site was dedicated as a National Historical Landmark in 1978.
This is a picture of the museum, located on the southeastern
corner
of First Street and Main in Neodesha. In addition to the main building,
additional outbuildings and areas contain a clown museum, a replica of the
Norman #1 Derrick 67 feet tall, farm implements, as well as a shop selling
historical books about Neodesha, clothing and other souvenirs.
Below is a picture of the late Fred Forslund, Assistant Museum Curator.
Jackie Clark oversees the day-to-day operation of the museum.
For Neodesha residents, both past and present, you will find the Standard Refinery whistle that blew at noon each day for most of our lives. The uniform of Police Chief Jim Noel is there along with other items of his. A visitor will also see many old artifacts from the area that have been donated. A vast collection of newspaper articles are available in numerous scrapbooks.
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May 29th Update From Jackie Clark: We had the "Cho O-Nee To High Iron" re-published, Norman
No. 1 t-shirts designed by our own Fred Forslund (now deceased), clean-up of the original
site, the lighting of the derrick replica, and many other on going
projects. We will be add 2 spaces to our RV Park in the fall. The museum
will be open year around now. The hours and information for museum, gift
shop and RV Park are: |
106 South First Street
Neodesha, Kansas 66757
Guided tours for all are available upon request. Please
call ahead.
Admission is FREE, but donations greatly appreciated!
A few pictures that you may click on to view.
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