The Village of Oil Springs and the Township of Enniskillen, in partnership with the County of Lambton, undertook a study to help the notable areas within their municipalities achieve the status of an Ontario Heritage Conservation District. This designation is achieved through Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act and would preserve heritage structures and industrial archaeological sites.
To achieve this goal, the municipalities worked with local landowners and local historians to produce research and a report. Consultants, including representatives from MHBC Planning, Historical Research Limited and George Robb Architect, undertook a comprehensive inventory of the scale and scope of the resources.
The Oil Heritage Conservation District Plan was adopted by Lambton County Council on November 24, 2010. The final plan is posted below. Questions regarding any of the documents can be directed to:
Andrew Meyer, General Manager, Cultural Services Division
Email Andrew Meyer
Oil Heritage Conservation District Plan documents
Conservation District Plan
Conservation District Study Appendix
Conservation District Study Text
Heritage Conservation District Feasibility Study
Meeting minutes
Minutes from the committee meetings are listed below.
Community Meeting - May 11, 2009
A Community Meeting was held on May 11, 2009 at the Oil Springs Youth Centre. At this meeting, consultants explained the research undertaken to date. The following maps were presented for discussion at the meeting, and show three options for defining potential Heritage Conservation District boundaries.
The first map, Limits of Oil Pool, shows a boundary based on the natural limit of the underground resource pool on which the industry was based. All successful wells were located within this boundary.
The second map, Potential Heritage Area, shows the same oil pool boundary, but uses property lines as the boundaries because they are more visible on the ground and are easier to define.
The third map, Potential Contributing and Sequential Heritage Areas, includes the potential district as defined on the second map, but would add other areas that have either contributed directly to the significance of the Oil Springs field (Plank Road, Oil City and the Wyoming railhead), or followed as a further development of the industry (Petrolia).