The city of Santa Clarita and Trammell Crow broke ground Tuesday on what they called “the final touches” for The Center at Needham Ranch, the Pioneer Oil Refinery Park.
The partnership between the city and the developer celebrated the path to Santa Clarita’s 39th park on a historic property off Pine Street, where a nearly 150-year-old facility represents the world’s oldest oil refinery in existence.

The plans include the refurbishment of the refinery, which was built by California Star Oil in 1876 to process petroleum piped in from nearby Mentryville, the state’s first oil boom town, and then sent around the state via the nearby tracks that sit near the aptly named Railroad Avenue.
“I think this is a part of the state’s history that many people don’t realize is here in Santa Clarita,” Mayor Cameron Smyth said Tuesday, also referencing the Oak of the Golden Dream a few miles east in Placerita Canyon, where the state’s first verified gold discovery happened in 1842.


The large tanks left behind at the refinery, which closed 12 years after its opening, “produced kerosene for lamp-burning through a process of heating, cooling and treating the petroleum,” Smyth told the crowd, giving a taste of the information future field trips to the site will be able to share with school children for generations.
The first stage of the development, according to Lance O’Keefe, recreation and community services manager for the city, includes restrooms, the picnic pavilion, the parking lot and infrastructure to make the park usable. That phase is expected to be completed by next spring.
The park is expected to open at that point while the city begins work on the second phase, including the self-guided walking trails expected to include historical information about the area. The second phase could be completed by fall 2025, depending on the first phase.
A ribbon-cutting was held for Needham Ranch Parkway in June, a new street built to improve access for the 250-acre development off Railroad Avenue in the Newhall neighborhood replete with history.


Smyth said the refinery stands as a testament to the early days of the oil industry and how far the area has come.
State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, and his field representative Kris Hough also received a nod from Smyth, with both Smyth and Wilk nearing the end of their terms in December.
Wilk is terming out after 12 years in the Legislature, including two terms in the Assembly and two in the Senate, with Hough his field rep throughout. Smyth is unable to run for the council again due to the city’s recent move to district-based elections, which made him ineligible for the 2024 election.


With a little over 30 days left in office but no legislative session, Wilk praised the city’s efforts while taking a parting shot at the state’s Democratic supermajority and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“Congratulations on all this. It’s going to honor our past, and it’s going to have beautiful open space, but we may have to reopen this refinery, if Gavin Newsom keeps shutting them down,” Wilk joked. “So the city may be able to produce their own petroleum for their residents — so great forward-thinking, congratulations.”