California Oil Museum
The California Oil Museum in Santa Paula was established by the Union Oil Company in 1950 on the first floor of the building where the company itself had been established in 1890. In the corporation’s first years, company offices were located on the second floor of the building, while the Santa Paula Hardware Company and Post Office were located on the first floor. Union Oil moved its headquarters to Los Angeles in 1900, but maintained a field office in the building. The museum offers docent-led tours of the upstairs where restored offices from the 1890s provide a personal, hands-on experience of the early California oil business and one of the largest displays of vintage gas pumps and petroliana in California. The building is a Ventura County Landmark, California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Santa Paula, Ventura County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt