Petroleum Center

Tucked into Cornplanter Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Petroleum Center is a ghost town that once carried enough significance to appear on maps under two spellings — both 'Petroleum Center' and 'Petroleum Centre' were in common use during the 1800s. Today the community has dwindled to near-abandonment, leaving visitors with little more than a quiet, largely empty landscape as a reminder of its former life.

Anyone making the trip should come with modest expectations. This is a place to absorb atmosphere and reflect on a vanished community rather than to tick off a list of preserved structures or interpretive exhibits. The setting in rural Venango County provides the main draw.