No railroad was ever built to accommodate the Burning Springs oil producing region, but locks and dams were installed on the Little Kanawha River. The Rathbone well was drilled in July 1860 at 139 feet and when put back into production will be the oldest producing, though not continuous producing, well in the world. The Grow family set this site aside after they bought the Rathbone property in the early 1900's, being designated the Rathbone site. They sold the lots around it, but saved the well site for historical purposes. As a matter of interest, we just bought back one of the sites, so we now have 100 feet along the river and road and nine acres across the road on the hillside, which was also part of the original oilfield, dating back to 1860-61.
Plans are to get a cleanout rig in within the next couple of weeks and put it back into production.
It is to be completed this fall. Again, getting the scaffolding erected, preparing the bricks and applying the seal coat was the first priority - and one of the most costly. I saw the Governor this spring at a function and the first thing he did was compliment us on the mural. We still need to raise significant amount of money to complete the mural. Photo by Dave McKain.