1951
Fort St. John North Peace Museum
On November 1, 1951, Commonwealth Drilling struck oil at the Fort St. John No. 1 Well. This well was located on Wilson farm at Taylor Flats. This was the first oil rig used in the North Peace region of British Columbia and the 160’ derrick attracted a lot of attention. A 290 metre deep pocket of oil was found 1524 metres below the surface. This vial contains some of the first oil to flow from that well. From this point on, Fort St. John’s economy has followed the boom and bust cycle of the oil and gas industry.