Galena Oil
Galena Refinery, Franklin, PA
Galena Oil manufactured in Franklin rose from humble beginnings in the 1860s to lubricate all the railroads in the United States and Canada, 75 percent of the South American railroads, 29 percent of the street railways in the United States and a large percentage of the rail lines in Europe.
The success of the business was due to a fine product and a super salesman in the person of Charles Miller of Franklin, the company president. First known as Great Northern, the company started in 1865 in a small building located on a narrow strip of land at the base of Point Hill along the railroad tracks opposite Franklin. In 1868 Colonel O. Street leased the building, changed the name to Point Lookout Oil Works and the product to Galena, named for the lead sulfide used as an additive in the refining process.
The following year Mr. Miller and John Coon, who had moved here from New York state in 1866, purchased the refinery and the patent for refining the lubricant. They worked to increase the market for their product, targeting railroads across the country. When the refinery was destroyed by fire in 1870 they moved on to purchase the nearby Dale Refinery, located in Franklin. It was renamed the Galena Oil Works and for 60 years it continued to turn out quality products.
In February 1871 Mr. Miller was back on the road and Galena Oil was being tested by the Union Pacific Railroad in competition with other lubricants. The Omaha, Nebraska, Herald reported: “Each car was lubricated by a different oil and run until a box became hot. Galena Oil, manufactured in Franklin, Pa., proved the best of the dark oils, running 750 miles without heat. A new oil from Cleveland was reported to run even farther than this, but costs over twice that of the Galena. The Galena Oil Works now opens the war by a challenge to the Cleveland oil, claiming to run more miles, do better work and remain on bearings longer than any they can produce. We suppose railroad men will watch with interest the test.”
Railroad men were indeed watching, as were officials of the fledgling Standard Oil Company in Cleveland. By 1878 an agreement had been reached for Standard Oil to purchase the local company, retaining Mr. Miller as head of the Franklin operation. He continued his work as super salesman, training a large staff to visit railroads around the country, which he also called on frequently.
The Signal Oil Works was established in Franklin in 1873 by Mr. Miller and his brother-in-law, Joseph C. Sibley, who developed a railroad signal oil which was manufactured at the Galena plant. It also became a subsidiary of Standard Oil.
After the 1911 court-ordered breakup of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, judged to be in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Galena-Signal Oil Company continued to operate as an independent entity until it was absorbed by Valvoline Oil Company, later sold to Ashland Oil. All work at the Franklin plant was discontinued in the early 1940s.
Written by Carollee Michener.