(Photo by Michelle Dillon) An engine that used to be part of the oil drilling at Volcano sits under a shelter at Mountwood Park during Volcano Days Friday. The engine arrived at the park a few weeks ago and is one of the new things people can see this year at Volcano Days.

VOLCANO — A small crowd ventured out in the rain and wind to Mountwood Park Friday for the 34th Annual Volcano Days and Antique Engine Festival.

The festival started Friday from 4-7 p.m. and will run Saturday from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

About 3,000-5,000 are expected to attend the three days of the festival, according to Wood County Parks Director Jeremy Cross.

The festival is held near the site of what was once the oil boomtown of Volcano in the White Oak region of Wood and Ritchie counties. Shortly before the end of the Civil War it had emerged as a major oil producing town, according to a historical marker for the site of the Thornhill estate.

The estate was built by W.C. Stiles in 1874, who was known as the “Father of Volcano.”

(Photo by Michelle Dillon ) A one-third scale replica of the oil derrick that used to be part of Volcano is just one of the many pieces of Volcano’s history that Volcano Days attendees can see.

Volcano had an opera hall, bowling alley, hotels, restaurants and shops to cater to every need by 1870 and at its peak it had a population of 2,300, the marker said.

The first railed road completed in West Virginia, the Laurel Fork and Sand Hill Road Railroad was built in Volcano by 1870 to transport oil to Parkersburg, according to the marker.

An oil pipeline was built by 1879 but a fire burned down the town in August of that year and the town was never rebuilt due to oil production declining, the marker said.

Volcano Days was “started to celebrate the history of Volcano,” Cross said, and so that the public could see the oil and gas industry history.

The first day of the festival Friday saw about 75 food and craft vendors show up, according to Cross, despite the wind and rain.

They sold items like ice cream, barbecue, blankets, hats, decorations, honey, toys and more.

Walker resident Desiree Lemley was one of the vendors at the firs day of the festival and she was selling items at a booth named DD’s Market.

The crowds had been good “so far” Friday night, Lemley said,

“Rain or shine, it’s never stopped (me),” she said.

The crowd was smaller Friday but Cross said the weather is supposed to be good Saturday and he expects a bigger crowd.

Festivalgoers could watch antique engines in action Friday night, all of which are owned by members of the Wood County Flywheelers.

Jeff Kennon and Earl Hudkins, both members of the Wood County Flywheelers, demonstrated how Kennon’s antique saw mill worked Friday night. Kennon comes every year with his saw mill, which can cut about 250 board feet an hour, he said.

He comes “to meet people”and because it is fun, he said.

This is Hudkins first year helping Kennon with his machine and he said he likes the machine so much that “I went out and bought my own.”

There were some new things that festivalgoers could see Friday evening, including a new addition to the Volcano Museum that allows it to display new items that it had in storage, Cross said.

This includes a model of an endless cable system. Cross said this type of system was first used in Volcano and it allowed up to 40 oil wells to be operated at one time.

Another new feature is an engine that was actually used in Volcano for oil drilling, according to him. The green engine sat under a wood shelter Friday, safe from the rain. It just showed up at Mountwood Park a few weeks ago, according to Cross.

Attendees were also able to see, as they have for many years at the festival, the one-third scale replica of the 88-foot oil derrick that was used in Volcano,

There were also other antique engines and antique tractors on display Friday evening and people could also see demonstrations of cornmeal grinding, a mini mill and blacksmithing and they could see a shingle mill.

There was also a rock wall for climbing Friday night and there will be a bounce house Saturday.

Easy Rider will be giving rides from the parking area to the front entrance of the festival on Saturday too, according to Cross.

Jackie Lacey and Dylan Fordyce, both from Harrisville, came to Volcano Days together Friday.

Fordyce said he used to come to the festival when he was a child and his favorite parts of it now are “the tractors and the engines.”

Lacey also said she has come to the festival since she was a little.

“It’s a family tradition,” she said.

She said her favorite part of the festival is running into family she has not seen for a while.

Lacey also agrees with Fordyce.

“And I really like the tractors,” she said.

Learn more about Volcano Days at https://mountwoodpark.org/events/volcano-days/.