Canada's Victorian oil town : the transformation of Petrolia from a resource town into a Victorian community

In the early 1850s, the oil industry had a major impact on the resource town of Petrolia, Ontario. Christina Burr explores the ways in which the industry provided a common cultural identification that helped Petrolia change from a rough shanty-town of disreputable land speculators and "wildcatters" into an orderly, "civilized" Victorian community. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Colonization, Culture, and the Making of Canada’s Victorian Oil Town 1 “Oil Mania”: Colonial Land Policy, Land Speculators, and Settlement in Enniskillen Township, 1830s–60s 2 “Oil Smellers” and “Professors”: Science, Colonization, and the Oil Boom in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Enniskillen Township 3 The Petrolia Discovery and the Making of an Oil Resource Community 4 A Respectable Victorian Town: Public Space, Voluntary Associations, and the Creation of a Culture of Refined Sociability 5 “Some Adventures of the Boys”: Enniskillen Township’s “Foreign Drillers,” Imperialism, and Colonial Discourse 6 “Canada’s Victorian Oil Town”: History, Public Memory, and Community Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z Departing from traditional historiography focused on the economic role of resource development, Canada's Victorian Oil Town incorporates an understanding of the connections between science and technology, nation and imperialism, and cultural nuances of community-building. Burr looks at the cultural importance of place and how collective identity was nurtured in the community. She also illustrates how the image of Petrolia as Canada's Victorian Oil Town has been used since the 1970s to develop a thriving tourist industry in the region. Interdisciplinary in scope, Canada's Victorian Oil Town draws from the history of imperialism, science, resource development, local history, gender studies, and cultural geography. Departing from traditional historiography focused on the economic role of resource development, this book incorporates an understanding of the connections between science and technology, nation and imperialism, and cultural nuances of community-building. It draws from the history of imperialism, science, local history, gender studies, and more.