Emlenton
Franklin
Oil City
Tionesta
Titusville
Pleasantville
Meadville
Tidioute
Endeavor
Warren
Sheffield
Bradford
Smethport
Ridgway

Styles

Adam
Greek Revival
Classical Revival
Gothic Revival
Italianate
Second Empire
Stick
Queen Anne
Shingle
Colonial Revival
Neoclassical
Tudor
English Cottage

PLEASANTVILLE

The pottery industry in the area died out some time before the Civil War. Ironically, the Pleasantville oil boom started on the old William Porter farm just south of town where an eccentric character, “Crazy Abram James”, successfully drilled for oil in February of 1868.  James went into a fit at the site the year before and upon regaining consciousness claimed the spirits of the other world showed him rivers of oil beneath the surface of the ground.  Oil has been a been a part of Pleasantville’s life ever since.
 

John Brown came to Pleasantville from New York State in 1833.  He was a merchant by trade and set up shop at the southwest corner of State and Main.  Brown shipped his goods by way of the Erie Canal to Erie and then over land to Pleasantville.  He had four sons who succeeded him in this very successful business.  One of the son’s, Samuel Queen Brown, built a fine Italianate structure on State Street just west of Main.  The Brown Brothers became very successful oil producers.  Samuel Q. Brown became president of the famous Tidewater Pipe Company, an independent oilmen’s venture started by Bryon Benson and David McKelvey of Titusville.  Pleasantville has had a particularly close relationship with Titusville since the early days of oil.
 
 

Some of Pleasantville’s most elegant early homes were built along Chestnut Street.  Judge James Conneley built a fine Second Empire with lavish interior decoration at 317 Chestnut Street about 1870.  A District Court judge, Conneley was very soon transferred to Philadelphia.  The locally prominent Holeman family bought this fine house when Judge Conneley left the area.
 

A physician, Dr. John Wilson, built a particularly nice brick Italianate residence at 248 North Main Street in 1873.  The home features prominently overhanging eaves with pairs of deeply drawn brackets and appropriate masonry window hoods.  The home remained in the Wilson family for a number of years.  Today, the excellent condition of the structure and the beauty of the grounds are noteworthy.

RECOMMENDED READING: “Pleasantville Diamond Centennial”,1996.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS: East from Titusville on Route 27 or northwest from Tionesta on Route 36 or  north from Oil City on Route 8 and Route 227.