Volcano, West Virginia

Shortly before the end of the Civil War, Volcano emerged as a major oil-producing boomtown in the White Oak region of Wood and Ritchie Counties. By 1870, it had a full complement of retail establishments, including a post office, opera hall, bowling alley, hotels, restaurants, and shops catering to every need. In 1869, the Laurel Fork and Sand Hill Railroad, the first railroad completed in West Virginia, was built there to transport oil to Parkersburg. Residents followed current events through two newspapers, The West Virginia Walking Beam and the Volcano Lubricator. At its peak, Volcano had approximately 2,300 citizens. In 1879, the railroad was made obsolete by completion of a pipeline to Parkersburg, and on August 4, 1879, a fire of unknown origin destroyed the town. Because oil production was already beginning to decline, Volcano was never rebuilt. The Volcano oil fields are estimated to have pumped over 2,500,000 barrels of oil, and the town was reminiscent of those popularized in the California gold rush of 1849.

West Virginia · United States