TITUSVILLE — The Drake Well Museum in Titusville has been accredited by the American Association of Museums, the highest national recognition a museum can receive.

The Drake Well Museum is dedicated to the nation's first successful commercial oil well and is named for Edwin Drake, who drilled the well in 1859. That feat is the focus of the upcoming Oil 150 celebration in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The Drake Well Museum is one of 31 Pennsylvania museums accredited by the national association. Only 774 of the nearly 17,500 museums in the United States are accredited by the group.

The museum located off Route 8 will close its central building next month for renovations. Its outdoor exhibits will reopen in April.