Lambton Family HubGuidebooksPetrolia, with Oil Springs and Enniskillen next door
Things to Do in Petrolia with Kids
The town that taught the world to drill.
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Oil money built the town.
Curiosity is what keeps it.
Make a day of it
Petrolia is a small town with an outsized past. For a few decades in the late 1800s the wells around it supplied most of Canada's oil, and the money that came up with it built a main street of brick, gingerbread trim and an opera house that still runs a professional theatre season. Children notice the pumpjacks first. The rest of the story is worth telling them on the drive in.
This guide starts with that story, because it is what makes a day here different from a day anywhere else. Each chapter ends with what you need to actually go: the season to check, where to point the car, what to tell the children. After that come the parks, the market and the rainy-day standbys we would build the rest of the day around, and the details a parent wants before leaving the house.
Walk Petrolia Line slowly.
Look up at the second storeys. That is where the oil money went.
Local stories
The oil town,
in three stories.
The hard oilers, Victoria Hall and the money that built it, and Oil Springs, where it started. Each story ends with where to go.
Story one / Hard oilers
The town that taught the world to drill
Oil was struck at Oil Springs, ten minutes south of here, in 1858. It was the first commercial oil well in North America, and within a few years the boom moved north to Petrolia, where the field was bigger and the town grew up around it almost overnight. By the 1870s and 1880s, Petrolia was one of the wealthiest towns per capita in Canada.
The men who learned to drill here did not stay put. Companies around the world hired Petrolia's oilmen for their hard-won expertise, and they carried it to Persia, Sumatra, Russia, Borneo and the Gobi Desert, eighty-seven countries in all. Lambton's oil drillers who travelled overseas became known as the Hard Oilers, and their letters home are part of the town's archive.
You can still see how it was done. Petrolia Discovery keeps a working 1860s-style oil field running on the edge of town, with the wooden jerker-line system that ran dozens of wells from a single engine, and a rig that has been in service since 1903.
If you go
Petrolia Discovery is a seasonal outdoor heritage site on the edge of town, with uneven ground and wooden walkways, so wear practical shoes. The regular visitor season is over for 2026; ask about special events or an off-season tour before you set out. Once there, give the children one job: find where the jerker line starts and follow it to the furthest well it moves. School-age children who like to know how things work get the most out of it.
Story two / Brick and gingerbread
Victoria Hall, and the money that built it
Oil wealth needed somewhere to go, and in Petrolia it went into buildings. Victoria Hall, finished in 1889, served as Petrolia's town hall and opera house, with a clock tower you can still use to find your way back to the car. Beginning in 1913, the town's farmers' market operated in a separate market building beside it. Victoria Hall anchors a downtown of Victorian storefronts and gingerbread-trimmed houses that the oil barons built for themselves.
The hall never stopped performing. Victoria Playhouse Petrolia runs a full professional theatre season inside it, an unusual thing for a town this size, and a good reason to plan an evening here with older children.
If you go
Start under the clock tower, then walk Petrolia Line in either direction and count clock faces, turrets and dates carved into brick. If there is a family-suitable show on at the Playhouse, make the performance the centre of the day, and check content guidance, running time and seating access first: not every production is a children's show.
Story three / Ten minutes south
Oil Springs, where it started
In 1858 James Miller Williams dug a well at Oil Springs and struck oil. The Oil Museum of Canada now stands on that site, with galleries indoors and the field outside, and it is the clearest way to show a child what the pumpjacks along the county roads are for.
Next door, Fairbank Oil Fields is the world's oldest oil company still in operation, run by four generations of one family and pumping with the wooden jerker-line system devised in the 1860s.
If you go
Allow travel time; this is a separate outing from downtown Petrolia, and admission applies. The galleries are indoors and the field is outside the door, so dress for both, and check current exhibits and family events before you leave. Pick up the audio driving tour at the museum and take the historic field at your own pace, with Fairbank Oil Fields next door.
- 1858
- Oil Springs. James Miller Williams strikes oil at the first commercial well in North America.
- 1860s
- The boom moves north. Petrolia's field proves larger, and the town grows up around the rigs.
- 1876
- The fair begins. The Petrolia & Enniskillen Agricultural Society is founded; its fall fair still runs every September at Greenwood Park.
- 1889
- Victoria Hall opens. Town hall and opera house under one clock tower; the farmers' market building came in 1913.
- 1903
- Still pumping. A rig at Petrolia Discovery enters service. It is in service today.
Stories the town tells
A little local lore.
Ghosts on the walk back to the car
Local lore keeps a "Grey Lady" in one of the grand Victorian houses along Petrolia Line, and a former resident nicknamed Mr. Hirst who is said to linger there still, frock coat and cigar included, in a building that is now a restaurant. Nobody promises you will see either one. Tell the children on the walk back to the car, not before bed.
Watch the Grey Lady story
Sunnyside, the mansion that became a film set
Oilman John Henry Fairbank, the engineer whose jerker-line system is still pumping wells across the county, built the 22-room mansion Sunnyside in 1890 on the fortune it made him. Locals just as often call it the Fairbank House. It is a private home today, best seen the way most people see it: from the street on a walk down Petrolia Line. In 2018 it stood in as a haunted house on screen, when Guillermo del Toro's horror film Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark shot scenes there.
Round out the day
Small outings.
Long memories.
The stories above give you the main stop. These are the parks, the market and the rainy-day options we would build the rest of the day around. Our suggestions are not venue age rules or promises of availability.
01 / Boutiques, brick and gingerbread trim
Shop downtown Petrolia
Petrolia Line is a walkable stretch of Victorian storefronts, independent shops and cafes built on oil money -- the kind of downtown a family can wander without an agenda. Let the children pick which second-storey detail is their favourite.
Parent details for shopping downtown Petrolia 
Hours vary by shop, and some close Sundays or Mondays. Check before making it the plan.
Open in maps
02 / A creek, a bridge, a short walk
Bridgeview Park & the Bear Creek trails
Petrolia grew up along Bear Creek, and Bridgeview is where the town still meets it. A short trail walk, a picnic, and time for children to explore at their own pace.
Parent details for Bridgeview Park
Check trail conditions after wet weather and keep close beside the water. The town's splash pad is behind the YMCA on Tank Street, not here.
Get directions
03 / Saturday morning, done properly
Petrolia Farmers' Market
A covered market pavilion on Fletcher Street, open in season on Saturday mornings. Let each child choose one thing for the picnic, then carry it to Bridgeview.
Parent details for Petrolia Farmers' Market
Seasonal; check the town's current market dates and hours before promising it.
Get directions
04 / Nearby in Enniskillen: a longer nature day
Lorne C. Henderson Conservation Area
Trails, open ground and a campground in Enniskillen, a few minutes west of town. The pick when the children need to run rather than look.
Parent details for Lorne C. Henderson Conservation Area
Day-use fees apply. Check seasonal facilities and pool availability; winter vehicle access is restricted and washrooms close.
Get directions
05 / When the weather turns
Petrolia YMCA
An indoor swim or a family session on Tank Street when the rain arrives. The town's splash pad is behind the building in summer.
Parent details for the Petrolia YMCA
Read the swim-admission and supervision rules, and check whether a session needs booking, a pass or a membership before arriving.
Get directionsMake it a date
Something to look forward to.
A library day
Choose a branch and browse its calendar. Check the session's ages, time and registration before making plans.
See Petrolia Library calendarThe useful bits
A little planning.
A better day.
Choose one main stop. Have a backup. Leave room to change your mind.
Is everything within walking distance?
Downtown is: Victoria Hall, the market and Bridgeview Park sit close together. Petrolia Discovery is on the edge of town, and the Oil Museum, Fairbank Oil Fields and Lorne C. Henderson need the car. Each story and card above carries its own directions.
What if it rains?
The Oil Museum's galleries, a swim at the YMCA, or a suitable show at the Playhouse. Check opening days and show times; these are options, not guaranteed drop-ins. More indoor ideas.
Where should we start with younger children?
Keep the number of stops low: the market, then Bridgeview for a picnic and a short walk, with the pumpjacks pointed out on the drive. Save Petrolia Discovery for a day when everyone has the patience for a tour.
When is the fair?
Every September at Greenwood Park. Fair days bring admission, parking arrangements and crowds that an ordinary park visit does not; check the schedule in our fall fair guide before you go.
Can we go inside the historic oil sites?
Petrolia Discovery and the Oil Museum are visited on their own terms: opening seasons, tours and admission. The working wells you pass on county roads are private property; enjoy them from the car.
Historical notes draw on the Oil Museum of Canada, Petrolia Discovery, Fairbank Oil Fields and the Town of Petrolia. Programme details were checked against the linked municipal, library, museum and operator sources in September 2026; opening, prices and availability can change, and the links take you to the current details. Suggested outings are our planning ideas, not venue schedules. Suggest a correction.