Pleasantville, Pennsylvania – On Saturday, June 4, the Visitor Center at Historic Pithole City opened for the summer tourist season. Known as the Pennsylvania oil boomtown that vanished as quickly as it appeared, the historic site contains an exterior walking trail through the former streets of the town and interior exhibits and artifacts.
The Visitor Center was built in 1975 by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission after James B. Stevenson gave 90 acres of the city to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1963. Inside, visitors can view a large diorama of the city in its heyday with over 200 miniature buildings, the street layout, and around 500 figures. Exhibits and a film tell the story of the rise and fall of the famous boomtown. While walking the grounds, visitors have the chance to read the interpretive and directional signage along the city streets and imagine the boomtown as it was in the mid-1860s.
Pithole is located at 14118 Pithole Road, Pleasantville, PA 16341. Hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for youth 12