Retrospective presentation highlights oil history in Signal Hill, So Cal

Corey Washington
Contributing Writer

Arguably, no single industry carved a larger path for Signal Hill’s independence and economic vitality than the oil industry— and conversations about how the world’s highest-demanding commodity shaped the city’s history continues to draw interest from historians and community members alike.
City officials joined local residents April 11 at the Signal Hill Park Community Center to highlight stories that showcased how the discovery of oil throughout California affected Signal Hill’s foundation. The event, which was hosted by the Los Angeles Region Planning History Group, was titled “Black Gold in Paradise: The Influence of Oil and Energy on L.A.’s Urban Form,” and featured several guest speakers who exhibited how the various attempts to acquire oil generated numerous lessons along the way, shaping politics, governance and quality of life for residents in Signal Hill and the surrounding Southern California region.
The conference featured the 11th colloquium presented by the organization in its 30-year history. According to Marsha V. Rood, president of the organization, the history of oil and its global influence continues to fascinate people, and it’s one of the reasons the group was excited to share its most recent colloquium.

Kenneth Farfsing, city manager of Signal Hill, who is also one of the board members for the Planning History Group, began the presentation illustrating how the discovery of oil in Signal Hill in 1921 would become a near-century odyssey of highs and lows as the city’s development moved forward. Early on, city residences and farms were the victims of poor regulation for oil exploration and development, which would eventually lead to fires that damaged local properties. It wouldn’t be until 1962, when the City adopted its first general plan, that Signal Hill would begin to dramatically rehabilitate itself over the course of decades to come.
Early oil exploration became an increasingly contentious issue by the 1930s because of poor planning and development of the supporting infrastructure, including various pipelines, which led to multiple lawsuits that were filed in the state. Today, some of those pipelines continue to exist hundreds of feet below land in parts of Signal Hill.
Despite some of the challenges and setbacks of early oil exploration that negatively affected Southern California and Signal Hill residents, many residents realized the economic potential of the oil industry and advocated for oil production, said Sarah Elkind, a San Diego State University professor and speaker at the conference.
“The reason that Signal Hill took off during the 1920s is that, if you owned land on Signal Hill, you tried to get it leased to an oil company,” she said. “It wasn’t the powers-that-be in the ’10s and ’20s that were exploiting this resource, it was everybody who had the opportunity to, either by getting a job, by leasing their land, or by investing in stock.”
Farfsing said because new oil deposits have been discovered in Signal Hill, land-use entitlements continue to be important because oil may continue to be produced in Signal Hill for the next one hundred years.
“It kind of goes back to that 1962 general plan, where oil is declining,” Farfsing said. “The city has to have a vibrant economy. How do you basically take vacant, old oil lands— how do you get enough economic synergy in there where you can actually clean up those properties? And since we lost redevelopment (funds), it was phased out in 2011, the challenge is even more daunting for the City in terms of trying to create this economy, where the private sector can come in and clean up or we could get other resources, maybe grants or things like that.”
Signal Hill Mayor Larry Forester, who attended the event, worked for the oil industry immediately after completing graduate school and said he felt compelled to learn more about the industry when he arrived in Signal Hill. He said the presentations emphasized why understanding how oil production was initially established remains relevant because it helps residents understand how it affects the city.
“Considering that there is as much oil in the ground that’s been taken out as since 1921, and there’s a whole other field discovered going down to 10,000 feet, I think it’s critical that [residents] understand it because we are going to co-exist with oil,” Forester said. “I would say in the ’90s, we thought it was going to dry out. Now, with new injection-well techniques, and with the discovery of a lower field, we’re going to coexist. We have million-dollar homes on top of the field within a hundred of feet of an oil well. You can coexist. The oil company has been very good to work with us.”
Following the initial presentations, community members in attendance were able to ask questions during a forum with the guest speakers. Questions from the audience ranged from any personal experiences with oil ownership to the future of oil production in Signal Hill and beyond.
Farfsing said there may be additional oil-related workshops or forums in the future.
For more information about the Los Angeles Region Planning History Group and its history of colloquiums, visit larphg.org .