, 1866-04-06
GREAT FIRE ON OIL CREEK.
Fearful Destruction Of Property.

!; GREAT FIRE ON OIL CREEK
Fearful Destruction Of Property
Eighteen wells and Tweaty Thousan.
BaIreis Of ou uBuJned-Lo.s Essimaae.
. at s2oo,o0o-The Property PARTIAL,
Insured.
(From the TItusv7lie Herald, q
We afe ogain called upon to record an cs
| tensire and disastrous copGagration In th
heart Of the OIL regions, resulting in the de
stEuctton Of eifhteen producing wells, twcnt]
thousand barrels Of oil, and an entire loss q
not less than t2o, GOO. We are indebted te
our enterp1ising correspondent, Mr. C. L
Harris, for the particulars OF the disaster.
The IRE originated about 91< o'clock on
Farm, opposite Petroleum CITY. Our citizen
we're first apprised Of the fire 6y dense CLOUD
OF smoke which rose over Petroleum Centre
and dritted to the south and east. Te1.3rapbic
dispatches confirmed the worst appreheu-
slons, a9d many OF our citizens were BOON
The cause Of the fire Was not new one.
The gas, with which as fuel many Of the wells
nre Fun, took fire In the supply pipe which
itd the furnace Of the BurlinEton well,
az ana d,aa ran back to the blow:tank: and,
It had communicated to the large tanks, and
burst forth dedant and nnqueucbah1e
] nass Of lame. But few moments eIansed
before the tanks Of the old Coquette, contain
& ,nG iour thousand barrels OF oil, were wrap
CONSERVATION prevailed. Il was ttonrht he
lire would communicate to the build;nrs on
lhe opposite side OF the creek, and hi that
event nothing could save the town. The cit-
lzehs commenced at once removing from their
ave tameungs, stores aud hotels, and in a short
w0 A.I
araiiops made for removing all portable epo3s
70 thc hillside. In many cases the residents
removed their household effects in the direcs
ton OF tha Stevenson Farm, but happily their
1ears we're disappointed, as the danes were
restricted to the east aide Of the creek.
creek, opposite Petroleum Centre, where
we're stored several tanks Of oil. About
twenty aatboat5, fully loaded, and awaiting
msh water, we're moored ut that point Of the |
hs.feam, hnTs,1a, and rs the fiery current from the
west and emptied itself into the creek, iEhich
a. A. ms point forms right angle) all The
were ae,en envsloped IN burning mass-
,nss some me, Of the seows broke from their moor
cargoes OF writhing lame Upon the farms
along the fat, poured the fearful LIQUID cur.
rsnt. following the depressions OF the ground
~ Il reached the water level, where 1t spread
K
liquid fire.
Not less Than &C, coo barrels OF oil were de.
stroyed, With several thousand barrels of 4
tnaankage. nag The loss Is estimated at fully 300
0o0. The bridge connecting Petroleum Cen
tIe with the Hyde d Egbert farm was saved
With much difficulty, BY removing portion
OF the planks: A portion Of the 81 and some
OF 1ne buildings were insured. Among the
wells destroyed are the old and new Manie
Shade, Jersey and Olive Branch. We shall be
able TO present Tomorrow the names Of the
:. sufferers and other interesting particulars Of
the disaster.
The Dlaaster More Serious Than Rtnx
kepofted-Loss $4,000 Barrels Of OH
-Fhrl1inE Scenes or Alarm aud
Peril.
Correspondents rlevcisud iea6cr.1
PETROLEUM CErrFn
vESAFao Co., Ps., March 81, 1866.
me third of d series Of destrncffva frea
v hich have scourged out vicinity within the
past rev days transpired to-day. II oriT-l
,aled with the bnrlington well, On the Ec-
'ers X rs.d ias!o az soone halfpast eight 3. m.,
oon communicated to the tanks Of the eel.
brated Coquette well, In which were atnret1
5,Uoo barrels Of oil. From these the firc
pIead p rapidly to the other wells aud creek.
Inc widest excitement prevailed during
nht.i 14V1I eHe uef0uIlQG element. ,
In.eA ila swept Tue shores Of Oil Greek for
slanSe q tWo miles, covering forty acres Of !
touna WIN olackened and chaITed remnants
euslnes' oeTflcks and taDks. In Its mad ] :
aleeI upon Inc water It enye1oped many :
uee ooats hlled with oil. They were torn !.
Jose 'fom Their moorinCE, floating down =
.leam al the fate Of i've miles per hour. thus !
sesentlDg ecene which words are made
aate 70 describe.
One large boat lodged upon the bank of the :,
EEK adjoining the Maple Shade II In which ! Z
vefal thousand barrels of oil were stored. :
:arcely moment clapsed ere tanks Of thIa :!
eat well exploded with loud report resem- 4
ing thunder, filing the air with dense col Z
ms Of smoke, which, inter1uing]inp with y
Ee hames, presented sight which batfied de-. .
Tption. Taking the fire at it's heioht. when g
rty scres Of territory occupied with nwe11 Y
shops, &c-were enye1oned =
this burning sea Of Oh, It conId nniv ha b:
mpaled n to Daate's description Of the mouth u u
Pandeuonium-whlle the wild, terrible cY- ~ ~
cement OF the people, the shouts Of men. ~ ~
c rushing to and fro Of the nasses-al- -ot - ~
hon seemed rushing. fto1n~~t the fate to :" r.
M, !" almost impressed us with the idea OF - -
really. .-....-..... u
al one tme We expected to chronicle the "a
" o. our ctty. a boat containing ahont | nF
rec hundred barrels of oil came floating dr
VIZ t1e efeeK and lodged on the bank I'M ri
sol21ely anacr the bridge, completely Gu IN,
III ,gp1nt ~ u names. Wecan1ot refrain from tot
wv ~ 5aG aespefate e3ert1ons displayed by art
: -. ~ Doase, n nis enaeaVore to remove this Ii,
iuing tu4ss OF on. calling upon tie men, an