Barnsdall Main Street Well Site

Built in 1914. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

From the record

“The Barnsdall Main Street Well is a formerly active oil well in the middle of Main Street in the town of Barnsdall, Oklahoma. It is believed to be the only such oil well anywhere in the world.”
Wikipedia article Barnsdall Main Street Well Site, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 23 National Register listings published here for Osage County · listed in 1997 · category: Site · built in 1914.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 site as contributing to the listing.
Address. W of jct of OK 11 and Main St., Barnsdall, 74002
When was it listed? October 1997
Category. site
Also known as. Energy-Related Properties in Northeastern Oklahoma MPS
Census division. Barnsdall
When was it built? 1914
National Register reference number. 97001153 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

188 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 188 fires within 5 miles of Barnsdall Main Street Well Site between 2001 and 2020, burning about 34,201 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 45 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	66
Arson/incendiarism	45
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	22
Power generation/transmission/distribution	22
Equipment and vehicle use	21
Recreation and ceremony	4
Natural	4
Other causes	2
Fireworks	1
Railroad operations and maintenance	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
7 September 2012	Power generation/transmission/distribution	756 acres	Osage Agency	STABLER 2
22 September 2012	Natural	under an acre	Osage Agency	SQUIRREL
15 September 2014	Power generation/transmission/distribution	2.6 acres	Osage Agency	NORA
13 September 2011	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	22 acres	Osage Agency	MOCCASIN
5 August 2011	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Osage Agency	BIG HOLE
23 August 2008	Power generation/transmission/distribution	1.0 acres	Osage Agency	HIGHTOWER
22 August 2001	Arson/incendiarism	3.5 acres	Osage Agency	COSHEHE
2 August 2012	Natural	2.1 acres	Osage Agency	VERMEER

Every fire recorded in Osage County

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Barnsdall Main Street Well Site: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Unknown Sandstone Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Osage County

Storms near this property

46 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Barnsdall, the town this property stands in, in 46 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 21 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 4 tornado, 3 flash flood. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
October 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	2 hurt, $50,000	Two mobile homes were destroyed, and one home was damaged. Two people were injured in this incident. The location was 2 miles west of Ochelata just inside Osage County. The Washington County Emergency Management Director reported that the damage pattern was 300 to 400 yards in length.
April 2024	Tornado (EF1)	Barnsdall	$250,000	This tornado developed just east of Highway 11, over the southeastern side of Barnsdall. It damaged homes, destroyed outbuildings, and blew down trees and power poles as it moved east-northeast, dissipating north of County Road 2400 and west of County Road 2335. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 90 to 100 mph.
April 1996	Tornado (F1)	Barnsdall	$150,000	no account filed
October 1998	Tornado (F0)	Barnsdall	$45,000	An F0 tornado skipped across southern Osage County just south of Barnsdall. Four homes received minor damage. However, three barns were completely destroyed, two outbuildings were destroyed, and numerous trees had 12-inch tree limbs knocked out of them.
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	$30,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour tipped over a mobile home just east of Barnsdall. No injuries were reported.
March 2008	Hail	Barnsdall	$15,000	no account filed
September 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs, some of which landed on a home.
April 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew the roof off an outbuilding 2 miles west of Ochelata.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles per hour damaged a barn and blew down power poles. Some windows were blown out of the Pizza Hut.
April 2012	Hail	Barnsdall	$5,000	no account filed
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	$3,000	no account filed
October 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	$100	Large tree limbs were blown down at the Woolaroc Museum.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured to 71 mph.
March 2021	Flood	Barnsdall	-	Bird Creek near Avant rose above its flood stage of 17 feet at 10:30 am CST on March 13th. The river crested at 21.32 feet at 8:00 pm CST on the 13th, resulting in moderate flooding. Farmland was flooded, and county roads west of Highway 11 were inundated. The river fell below flood stage at 1:15 am CST on the 14th.
April 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.
April 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs.
May 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Thunderstorm winds were estimated to 75 mph.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs.
July 2013	Flash Flood	Barnsdall	-	Several roads in and around town were flooded and were impassable. One vehicle stalled in two to three feet of water.
October 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
June 2010	Flash Flood	Barnsdall	-	Several roads were under water at low water crossings near and around Barnsdall.
March 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down two large trees at Woolaroc Ranch.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	A member of the broadcast media reported at 65 mile an hour wind gust in Barnsdall. The winds blew down tree limbs.
October 2009	Flash Flood	Barnsdall	-	Portions of Highway 11 were closed due to flooding.
April 2008	Tornado (EF0)	Barnsdall	-	Multiple storm spotters reported a tornado over open country.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs.
April 1995	Hail	Barnsdall	-	Severe thunderstorms in Osage County produced dime size hail at several locations in the eastern part of the county.
April 1995	Hail	Barnsdall	-	Severe thunderstorms in Osage County produced dime size hail at several locations in the eastern part of the county.
April 1995	Hail	Barnsdall	-	Severe thunderstorms in Osage County produced dime size hail at several locations in the eastern part of the county.
April 1995	Hail	Barnsdall	-	Severe thunderstorms in Osage County produced dime size hail at several locations in the eastern part of the county.
April 2009	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
April 2009	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
October 2007	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
August 2006	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
April 2004	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
May 2003	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
April 2001	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
July 1994	Hail	Barnsdall	-	no account filed
May 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Barnsdall	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Osage County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

3 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Bank of Bigheart	0.2 miles	1984
Wolverine Oil Company Drayage Barn	5.4 miles	1998
Woolaroc Ranch Historic District	7.5 miles	2008

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 97001153 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Osage County	All 23 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.