The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1859-12-28
Startling Discovery-Great Oil
Excitement.

| lhO pCoplC vi w eSleIu L euuSylVUnl1,
as you already know, have Just made the
exciting discovery that they are walking
| over streams or lakes of ,oaI o.. richer
| in wealth than the hest gold mines Of Cal
iornia. From intelligent persons on the
| spot. who are ma9a0 Il",S of the whole
matter and from personal knowledge |
have gathered the following yelia5le
! foct>:
There is subtenanean coal oil in Craw-
ford and Venango counties, Pa, in very
| large, if not exhaust!ess quantities,
| When rectifed, it is pure translucent
article, clear strong burner, wholly un-
explosive, does not CONCEAL in the least at
Is or 20 degrees below zero, is. Of course,
the best known oil for light houses, ships,
&C.. and is the most perfect lubricator Of
machinery, as it does not gum or thicken
like other oils The discovery is confined
to the banks of Oil Greek. This is a
stream of some size, which issues from a
small lake in the north western part of
Pennsylvania runs south southeast,
through parts of Crawford and Venango
counties aud empties into the Allegheny
river about IS miles above Pittsburgh
On this stream, about IA miles above its
junction with the Allegheny, stands the
village of TWuSUilte, the chief seat of the
oil discoveries and operations
From the most ancient times it has
been well known that there was more or
less petroleum oil in the bottom and bor-
der lands of this creek 1t floats on the
surface of the stream, and was collected
by the Indians and poor people for lights
In places it drips out Of the rock banks
in very pure state, and hence is called
rock OIL Hundreds of large and deep
pits were dug in the most ancient times
tor the oil, which pits are still traceable,
though trees growing on the earth thrown
up in the digging are from 200 to $50
years old. The petroleum still ooses large.
ly into pits Of any depth, dug in the bot
tom and border lands of the creek
The discovery came in this way. The
lands on Oil Greek are chiefly owned by
company who manufacture lumber at
Titusvile. One of the partners gave
some attention to the oil natter; a COM
pany was formed in Now York called
"The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company"
They bought piece of land near Titus
vile to work for oil. Some of the pit-pe-
troltum was analysed by Prot. Silliman of
Yale College, who found in it 80 per
cent, OF pure coal oil. This company
went through changes, nothing was done
to work for oil, and finally moAt of the
stock fell into the hands of man residing
in New Haven Conn,
In 1858 a Mr., Drake took lease of
the New Haven Company for working
their oil lands at Titusvlle, as he pleased,
and at his own expense, for fifteen years,
only giving to them II Q cents for every
gallon of oil obtained.
Under this lease, in May last, Mr..
Drake commenced sinking an artesian
well for salt, oil or anything which might
turn up. Boring through forty-seven
feet of gravel and twenty-five of shale
rock, with occasional small apertures in
it, he struck, in August, a large opening,
not yet explored as to depth or area, but
filled with coal oil, somewhat mixed with
both water and gas A small pump on
hand brought up from 400 to 500 gallons
Of oil day an explosion soon blew it
up, One Of three times its size and pow
er was put in its place, and during the
first four days throw up 5000 gallons of
oil, 1850 gallons per day, or one gallon
per minute for twenty hours fifty minutes
each day. The oil as raised was worth
so cents a gallon, which produced the
large income of $1,000 per day for four
successive days, and so the matter goes on
yielding about one gallon pr, minute
during working time.
OF course. there was no small stir.
A hundred strangers daily arrived at tt
tusvills to see,to wonder, to buy oil lands.
Half third, quarter rights in land, enough
to sink an artesian well, with real estate
generally, rose to very high figures. Many
poor people. owning little land, became
suddenly rich. The New Haven swamp
lands, formerly regarded worthless sold for
taxes, then for COW, were now marked
100000 per acre.
The oil in Mr.. brakes well, is undi-
minished by any amount of pumping.
Capitalists are on the alert. Ten compa-
nies are already boring; twenty five more
are making haste to begin, A large CON-
pany called the =" Consolidated Rock
oil Company" with capital of
$l,000,000, has been formed in New
York to buy and work the oil lands.
This matter presents some deep ques-
tions for the historian, the geologist, and
the merchant.
l. What race Of men dug those oil pits
more than 200 to $50 years ago2
2. Where are the immense Coal Beds
from which this oil Aows2 Are they
above or 6eioa0 the level of the oil.
8. What effect is all this to have on
the whaling interest, and on all those
branches of industry which now supply
the burning and lubricating ols2
New and interesting things will doubt
less occur in the progress of this matter,
Of which, with your consent, Mr. Editor,
l will try and keep your readers inform