Fellows California Kern County Oil Derricks Plant Ghost Town Real Photo Postcard

This postcard depicts an early 20th-century oil field and its associated processing facility. Numerous wooden derricks, central to the extraction of crude oil, dot the landscape, alongside a complex array of piping, distillation units, and storage tanks in the foreground. This layout represents the typical industrial infrastructure for petroleum operations during a period of rapid expansion in the oil industry.

This period marked a transformative era for global energy, as petroleum became indispensable for new industries, transportation, and military applications. Such expansive oil fields and refineries were critical to meeting the escalating demand for gasoline, kerosene, and lubricants. They symbolized the burgeoning industrial might of nations and the relentless pursuit of fossil fuels that profoundly reshaped economies and landscapes worldwide.