Rep. Kelly formally dedicates U.S. Post Office in Titusville after Edwin Drake
TITUSVILLE, PA -- On Monday, August 18, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) led a ceremony to formally dedicate the U.S. Post Office in Titusville, Pennsylvania after Edwin Drake, the father of the American oil industry. Kelly was joined by officials from the U.S. Postal Service.
"Edwin Drake’s discovery led to a revolution that transformed the world and put Titusville and the Oil Region in the history books. Now, I am proud to cement his legacy in our Nation’s history with this honor,” Rep. Kelly said. "I would like to thank my colleagues for their support in honoring this American pioneer."
In 2024, Kelly led legislation to officially rename the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 135 W. Spring St., as the Edwin L. Drake Post Office Building. Learn more about the legislation, which was signed into law in January 2025, here.
BACKGROUND
In 1859, Edwin Drake became the first person to use an iron pipe to drill for oil. His “drive pipe” quickly produced between 20-40 barrels daily, using all the whiskey barrels in Titusville. Drake’s oil well started the Pennsylvania oil rush in 1859. The Titusville oil well launched an economic revolution in Western Pennsylvania that would change economies worldwide.
Drake died in 1880, and rests in Titusville; the original tools used by Drake can be found at the Drake Well Museum in Titusville.
In 2022, Rep. Kelly passed similar legislation to rename the Butler, Pennsylvania Post Office after Butler County native and Civil War hero Andrew Gomer Williams. In 2023, Kelly led the renaming ceremony for the Post Office, which is now officially named the Andrew Gomer Williams Post Office Building.