Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-06-28
Letter from the OIL Region.

1
Letter from the Oil Region,
7TfssUiHs and its OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
of Oil Creek Improvements in TTtusviIle
IndTstry Of the Population LineoIa
Popular ia the OIL Region-Nsv Yorker
OUtaOitting Philadelph,Gas-A WeTd Q,
Warning, &c, &c.
TIrUs VILE, Crawford Co., Pa, June 20.
have been at this point for day OF
two, looking st the place and its surround
ings in all their forms. Here l 6rst OBJ
tsined sight Of the small stream which
has become so famous in newspaper and
financial circles in New York and Phila-
delphis.
Oil creek is clear as glass and there is
but little indication On it's smooth how of
the oily richness underlying its surface.
Just above the town it is directed, in q
great messure, into an artificial channel,
and thrown by means Of u vsusl through
the lower part Of the town to be used for
manufacturing purposes. Along this ar
tifcisl diversion Of its course oil re6neries
have been located. Its last effort Of pro-
pulsiVe power is upon q grist.mill.
At the upper or southwestern portion Of
the town is the Oil Greek Railroad depot,
which stretches away an indefinite dis
tance, and spreads over acre after acre
| for oil barrels and casks, filed and unfll-
ed, lie Piled up everywhere. The very air
/ is redolent with the stencil Of oil. l no
tieed, in my survey Of the depot, that un-
usually largo casks lay about in great
numbers. Upon inquiry, found that 50
great had been the demand for casks, that
the traders here had sent to the great
whale oil entrepots Of New England and
procured large numbers heretofore used on
shipboard. That, too, in tn face Of the
fact that you cannot travel q mile any
where in this region without finding i'm
mense. piles Of barrel slaves and hoop
poles, and in close proximity a cooper
shop, with the ineesssnt sound of the
hammer.
The demand for labor here is enormous
Carpenters Of the most ordinary skill, and
csJpers who osn barely manage to put a
DArrel togett er, get two and half dollars
per day. First. class workmen in wood
get readily from three to three and q
quarter per day. Indeed, building is here
the order Of the day; the harsh grating
Of the saw and the sound Of the hammer
are the only things heard. They have i'm
provised q town here ss they did at Cory.
You scarcely see brick house. All is
wood. Should FIRE occur it would prove,
under brisk air, most terribly destruc-
tive.
Already there are more than fifty houses
going up this season. There are three
churches finished and occupied, and two
more under process Of construction. Citi-
Zens here claim thai there are five thou
sand inhabitants, but there is not house
capacity enough for such an amount Of
population. can form no accurate idea
Of the population. Some place it as low
ss twenty-five hundred, but think the
nearest approximation to the truth would
be sbout three thousand. The population
is striving, active one. EVERYBODY seems
to be engaged in doing something.
The domInent ohsI sctsr Of tee prople is
evidently that Of the sll-pervsding, uni
Versal Yankee. Wherever gold is to be
had, oil " lis to be sunk, houses to be
built-in short, anywhere the "almighty
dollar" can be extracted or found-theIe
the New Rngisnder can be found. All
over these counties Of Erie, Crawford, and
Warren, wherever have gone, have
found them the governing, controlling
class; and they are enthusiastically for
Linooln's reelection. ShreWd men here |
tell me that the three counties will give |
fully 1000 majority for him over every |
body named or likely to be named.
Below here the oil wells begin. No oil |
has been found Immediately in the creek |
dst in the town proper. But on what is
known as the Parker and Watson farms, 9
couple Of miles below, there are q number |
Of pumping wells-no flowing ones. There
we're originally some flowing wells on the
Watson farm. The principal ones were
the Meade and Steele, and the Child's
wells. The Meade and Steele ran ght
hundred barrels per day, then fell of
gradually, uutil now they are pumping
about twelve barrels day, Childs well
ran four hundred barrels for some time.
II is now neither running nor pumping.
These flowing wells seem to exhaust after
very short but brilliant services. A good,
steadily producing pumping well, rang
ng from twelve to thirty barrels per day,
8 he safest investment.
For the Parker property Philadelphia
association paid $lO50OO, and for the Wat.
ION fat $I38,000. 1 trust they may get
heir money back. The only company
whose name / ssoertsined was that Of the
Petroleum Oil Company.
Such is the rush OF New York travel
hat there are here already what they call
our first class hotels These are all we'll
rept- When the Philsdelphia and Erie is
lnished there will be O perfect rush Of
10 this region, to ascertain
THAT their oil stocks are really worth.
l have as yet seen none Of the immense
lowing wells, but will during the next two
lays. Then look for grand, oVerpower-
ng, exaggerated description Of their six
lundrea barrels ~ per day. Mems i'm
.ginstions grow lively under stock excite
nents. The agents from our city for COM
,snies rush out here, zee well flow, stay
Wenty-four hours, push for g railroad,
ush back home again, and report fsvorA
,ly. What do they know after such q
risit with no previous knowledge or ex-
and without taking time to learn
.nythiDg shout the yield from personal