Pioneer Oil Refinery Historic Photos
With thanks to the Santa Clarita Historical Society, the California Historical Society, and Don Ball.
Photo from 1880's. This is the earliest known photo of the refinery behind Andrew's Station. It was still active at this time. There is no known photo of the refinery when it was at Lyon's Station.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and was used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
From the Standard Oil Bulletin of August 1918. Only still #4 is visible. A tree is covering still #3 and the older stills. The whole area looks pretty overgrown.
This photo was obviously taken before the 1930 restoration. Still #1 (the gooseneck) is laying on the ground in the right foreground. No chimneys are standing. The smokestack for the boiler is also not standing.
Image courtesy of Don Ball and Chevron
Photo taken in 1930 during the restoration work. This was in the Standard Oil Bulletin of September, 1930, provided to me by Don Ball. Standard's Pico superintendent, Charles Sitzman, led the effort with help from Charles D. Kellogg, one of the refinery's last refiners.
Photo taken on November 5, 1930 during the dedication ceremony for the refinery restoration. The Los Angeles Times of November 6 reported that more than 300 people were present. The Standard Oil attendees were represented by L. B. Little, the Production Superintendent.
Also reported was that "some of the boys who worked there in the late '70's and early '80's were at the ceremony and spun a yarn or two of those stirring times." And "Walton Young of Altadena, Clay Reynolds of Newhall, J. H. Whitney of Signal Hill and J. W. Saunders of Long Beach, who worked in the field in the early days, were on hand to see the dedication and say a word to the crowd and take a bow." "Little, Sales Manager J. F. Jeffries of Los Angeles district and Supt. H. C. Hanna of the company's El Segundo refinery recited something of the history of the industry."
From left to right are stills 4 (150-barrel), 3 (100-barrel), 2 (20-barrel), 1 (15-barrel), and the steam boiler (partially obscured). Stills 1 and 2 came from Lyon's Station. Stills 3 and 4 were added after the refinery was built here. All the stills have a brick base, with stills 1 and 2 sharing the same base.
Image courtesy of Don Ball and Chevron
Photo of plaque on still 3
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California.
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, CHS-11476.
Used by permission.
Labeled in the USC Digital Library as circa 1925, but the 1930 plaque is clearly visible on still #3. This photo was also used in the California History Nugget magazine of January, 1938.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California.
Title Insturance and Trust/C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, CHS-12393.
Used by permission.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California.
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, CHS-41133.
Used by permission.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California.
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, CHS-41136.
Used by permission.
Almost the same as the previous photo, but at a different time of year.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California.
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, CHS-37709.
Used by permission.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California.
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, CHS-41134.
Used by permission.
Rare view from the rear showing the wooden trough for the condenser pipes. It's dimensions were 5-ft x 5-ft x 125-ft.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California.
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, CHS-41135.
Used by permission.
Circa 1940's. In this photo you can see two crude oil storage tanks on the hill above the refinery. They are not the original tanks for the refinery because White (1962) reported those as being between 20 and 100 barrel capacity tanks, and the tanks in this photo are much larger. Oil was stored here and transferred to the railroad up until 1943 (according to Don Ball). (Photo by Arthur B. Perkins)
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and was used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
This photo I took shows the storage tank above the refinery. It might the same tank as shown in the above photo, but it is not one of the original tanks for the refinery. It is too large and the pipes and tank connections for the pipes do not face the refinery. The same is true of the other tank out of view of this photo. The pipes from the tanks actually travel parallel to this photo directly toward the railroad tracks. Also, I was able to measure the two existing tanks and the one visible here is about a 2145 barrel capacity tank and the other tank out of view is about a 1935 barrel capacity tank.
Circa 1940's (Photo by Arthur B. Perkins)
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and was used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
Circa 1940's (Photo by Arthur B. Perkins)
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and was used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
Circa 1940's (Photo by Arthur B. Perkins)
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and was used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
Note the fence around the refinery and the extra smaller tank just behind the larger one on the right
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
Used by permission of the Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Probably taken at the same time as the above photo showing fence around refinery site
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
Used by permission of the Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Looks like an old postcard
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
Used by permission of the Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
From the Santa Clarita Valley History in Pictures website. See more photo information here. Photo from around 1960. The two stills from the Lyon's Station refinery (Still #1 and 2) on the right are missing (and the steam boiler is probably also gone). The stills were removed by Standard Oil. I do not know what happened to still #2, but still #1 (with the goose neck) was moved to the Standard Oil Museum in Richmond, California (which opened in 1961). That museum doesn't exist anymore, so I don't know where the still is. Note that some of the wooden trough for the condenser is missing. (Photo by Arthur B. Perkins)
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and was used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
This photo is similar to the above photo, except that the more of the brickwork for stills 1 and 2 is missing. In fact, the bricks under still #2 look like they have been totally removed. Oddly, the missing wooden trough from the above photo has been repaired. Photo from around 1960. (Photo by Arthur B. Perkins)
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and was used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
Rare color photo from the early 1960's courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States
Center for Sacramento History, Aubrey Neasham Collection, 1982/078/3301
From a postcard
Cheese-box style still #4
Photo taken in 1992 by Cary Moore
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
Used by permission of the Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.