| City/Town: • Drumright |
| Location Class: • Industrial |
| Built: • Early 1900's | Abandoned: • 1954 |
| Status: • Abandoned |
| Photojournalist: • Billy Dixon • David Linde |
Tidewater of Tydol Oil Company was a major petroleum refining and marketing company in the U.S. for more than 80 years. Tidewater was best known for its Flying A-branded products and gas stations, and for Veedol motor oil, which was known throughout the world.
Tidewater, a national company, built this refinery in the Drumright area. The refinery was the center of the Tydol community, spawning a school house, grocery store and neighborhoods. When the Tydol refinery closed, many of the houses were moved out or torn down. The Tydol community virtually disappeared with the exception of the school house.
All that remains of the refinery are a few buildings, foundations and furnaces. All the processing units have been removed.
Gallery Below
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My grandfather, John T. Christian, worked at the refinery until it closed in the 50's. He was burned there. My grandmother , Oda, was active in the Union auxiliary. And, my mother, W. LoEva Christian met my father , Charlies (Buddy) Larkin at a Union dance!! So, I guess my paternal grandfather, Joe Larkin, must have worked there some. Wish I had a few pics to hang. Thank you so much. It was so nice to imagine them there and to remember my early childhood visits in Drumright at some of the Tidewater housing, where there was a smokehouse behind… Read more »
thats really cool can you still get in?
I lived there from around 1963-1974. I have so many fond memories of that place. Rex and Pat McPhail and I built many a fort down and around those old buildings. I always dreamed of building a home right where my old home use to be. It was an awsome place for a childhood. Loved it!
Yes. Deb, Toni, Nancy and I ran away from home one time and stayed in one of the old buidings. We didn't last all night. Remember the basketball court made from a buiding foundation? We spent many hours playing around there. I aways worry about the mercury bottles we found and played with the mercury. We are still living, at least!!
My grandfather, two great grandfathers and probably several of their relatives worked at this refinery back in the 1920s and 1930s. So very cool to see these photos and imagine them at work there.
How do you find this place in drumright?
How do you get to the old refinery?
good sharing
[…] Tydol Oil Refinery, located in Drumright, was once a major refinery in all of the United States. They produced Veedol […]
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The school building and property south of Drumright on Highway 99 was converted to a winery many years back. Is it still in operation? Haven't been down that way since my parents moved from Drumright in 2005.
The winery is still in business. They did a beautiful renovating the old school. They regularly host wine tastings and live music. A very nice addition to the little town of Drumright!
Yes, the Tidal School Winery is still open. You can visit their website at http://www.tidolschool.com . While you're in Drumright you can also visit the Drumright Historical Society Museum. http://drumrighthistoricalsociety.org
It's no longer Tidal School winery, it is now Tidewater. Tidewaterwinery.com or Tidewater Winery on Facebook;)
The school building is still there. The property was purchased in March, 2014, and reopened as a new winery called TIDEWATER WINERY. Come and visit us, check out events on TIDEWATERWINERY.COM or connect with us on TIDEWATER's Facebook page. Come visit us! Lot of history, murals, museum, a great day trip.
I was wondering if I can take my metal detector to this site and search around the grounds. Do I need permission for something like that? If so, who would I contact?
Thank you.
I wonder what the office was used for recently. It has a modern frount door with a breath easy sticker on it. The Breath easy program hasn't been around that long
My mom worked in the office. It was occupied by Getty Oil through about 1985, and then was taken over by Texaco. The offices remained in use through early 1987.
Very cool. I would like to suggest that you look into Camp Paddle Trails in Watts, OK. It's close to the Arkansas but out in the middle of no where. It has been closed for years, not sure why but I could probably get more info since my siblings went to camp there when they we were young. I do know that a small girl drown in the river there years ago but don't know any details
Forgot to add: Like the snow on the title logo
Another outstanding exploration. Is this shot in digital? A few of the interior shots have amazing color – shots #10 & #16 specifically (as counted left to right, top to bottom). Very nice, thanks.
Every photo on this site is digital. The bright colors are from blending 3 different exposures.