Editing Oil City, Pennsylvania (section)

===Laytonia, Cottage Hill, Imperial City, and Leetown===
[[Edwin L. Drake]] drilled the first commercially successful oil well in nearby [[Titusville, Pennsylvania|Titusville]] on August 27, 1859.{{sfn|Sherman|2002|page=7}} Oil was struck on the Downing farm south of the river{{sfn|Eaton|1876|page=42}} by Phillips & Vanusdall in April 1861.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=434}} Oil City had fewer than six families living there in 1859.{{sfn|Eaton|1876|page=41}} The discovery of oil changed that. By 1868, a number of [[boomtown]]s had emerged in the region, including Oil City, [[Petroleum Center, Pennsylvania|Petroleum Center]], [[Pithole, Pennsylvania|Pithole]], [[Rynd Farm, Pennsylvania|Rynd Farm]],<ref>[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=133607 Rynd Farm description], hmdb.org. Accessed June 26, 2023.</ref> and Titusville.{{sfn|Sherman|2002|pages=14–15}} By 1860, the oil trade was far and away the dominant industry in the Oil City area.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=434}} A [[machine shop]] (which constructed pipe fittings), warehouses, and other industrial structures were built on the west side of Oil Creek.{{sfn|Eaton|1876|page=42}} Barges were used to transport oil down Oil Creek and into Oil City, where it was transferred to steamboats or bulk barges to continue on to [[Pittsburgh]] and other locations.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

In 1859, Nevins sold his property to the Michigan Rock Oil Company,{{Efn|"Rock oil" was an early term for crude oil.{{sfn|Sherman|2002|page=8}}}} which built Main Avenue,{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=436}} [[plat]]ted an unnamed town around it, and erected a few buildings.{{sfn|Eaton|1876|pages=40–41}} On March 26, 1863, Henry Bastian sold his land to William L. Lay, who established a ferry near what is now the foot of Central Avenue. He platted a town of 80 lots near his ferry's landing on the south shore, and named the town '''Laytonia''' (sometimes referred to as "Laytona" or "Latona").{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=434}}{{Efn|Laytonia Street marked the western boundary of Lay's village. It is now called Reed Street.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=436}}}} The same year, Charles Haines and Joseph Martin bought out the Hassons (who had continued to farm their land), and graded Grove Avenue. The two built a number of homes along the street, calling their settlement '''Cottage Hill'''.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=436}} The United Petroleum Farms Association purchased part of Cottage Hill as well as an adjoining {{convert|300|acre|km2}} in 1864. The company subdivided the land into lots and swiftly built homes here.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=436}}

In 1865, Vandergrift, Forman & Company, a petroleum exploration firm, bought the property of a number of settlers around the north landing of Lay's Ferry and established a town the company called '''Imperial City'''.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=436}}{{Efn|Clusters of existing homes, one called Albion and the other Downington, were incorporated into Imperial City.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=436}}}} West of Laytonia, Charles Lee established a settlement called '''Leetown'''.{{sfn|Bell|1890|page=436}}