West Kern Oil Museum – Taft, California - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

AO Edited

West Kern Oil Museum

Taft, California

Wander through desolate oil fields littered with rigs. 

View all photos
An oil rig near the museum.
An oil rig near the museum.
Street sign showing old roads of Jameson Oil Company's former drill site Avoiding Regret (Creative Commons)
Signage from oil company Berry Petroleum, founded by C.J. Berry Avoiding Regret (Creative Commons)
Entrance sign Avoiding Regret (Creative Commons)
1
11
Top Places in California
Endangered Bighorn Sheep In Ko-Pah
Jacumba, California
Zoro Garden
San Diego, California
Penny Bar
McKittrick, California
 See All
This entry is a stub
Help improve Atlas Obscura by expanding West Kern Oil Museum with additional information or photos.

Learn all about the history of black gold and its impact on the surrounding community at this unusual museum. The highlight here is the chance to travel through an astonishing forest of oil rigs, pump jacks, and the mechanical infrastructure that has powered the modern economy.

Know Before You Go

The museum is only open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Atlas Obscura Experiences

Think Like A Museum: Curate Your Personal Collection with Alexis Hyde

Los Angeles, California
$215 per person
oil museums
Community Contributors
s
Added by
smalloch
Avoiding Regret
Edited by
Avoiding Regret
Published
March 28, 2023
Edit this listing
Make an Edit Add Photos
Nearby
Lakeview Gusher
3.92 miles
Penny Bar
15.24 miles
'Buttonwillow Bivouac'
21.09 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
The site today.
Maricopa, California

Lakeview Gusher

Remnants of the United States's largest accidental oil spill still mar a California valley.
The Penny Bar
McKittrick, California

Penny Bar

Hidden in the back of a disused small town hotel is a dive bar shellacked with over a million pennies.
The marker in context--though the brush is often much higher.
Buttonwillow, California

'Buttonwillow Bivouac'

In the country around Buttonwillow, California, a marker commemorates a revealing moment in the story of a water colony from the fictional Kcymaerxthaere that sought independence.
Wallace Creek crossing the San Andreas Fault.
Santa Margarita, California

Wallace Creek

The San Andreas Fault spectacularly offsets this creek.
Related Places
Stavanger, Norway

Norwegian Petroleum Museum

An impressive museum dedicated to the resource that made the Scandinavian country rich.
Exterior of the museum.
Lisbon, Portugal

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum

One man's remarkable private collection of art from around the world.
Blades of Glory Cricket Museum
Pune, India

Blades of Glory Cricket Museum

Believed to be the largest cricket museum in the world.
Museum entrance
Seattle, Washington

Northwest African American Museum

Now a museum, once the site of the longest act of civil disobedience in United States history.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web