Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-03-31
FROM FRANKLIN. PENN.
Failure Of Culver, Penn & Company.
LIST of Western Banks Suspended.

EAlN - uO1NNAA -
ne PetrOIeum Center Fire-Death of
Mckenzie = business Aspects in
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Oil Market
The Great Failure.
Especial Correspondence Cleveland LKADEn.
FRANKLIN, Pa, March 81, 1866.
The sensation of Oildom for
the past week was the terrible
co~nAagration, attended with loss of life,
that occurred on Thursday afternoon last,
on the Stevenson and Central Petroleum
Companys farms, heal Petroleum Center,
by which upwards of twelve thousand
barrels of crude petroleum were destroyed,
with a number of tanks, engine houses,
Offices and two dwellings. The immedi-
ate u of the fire was the bursting OF a
tank belonging to the Ocean well, which
contained at the time between six and
seven hundred barrels Of oil. As the oil
! flowed from the broken tank it eommuni-
Gated with the fire of an engine on the
Central Petroleum Company's farm and
instantly ignited. Before the lapse of ten
minutes the fire had spread over a large
space and wrapped in the flames six large
iy producing wells, withal i of their para
phernalia. The Ocean and Arctic wells
lost together about twelve thousand bar
rels of oil, and the Brandon wells nine
hundred barrels. The total loss of the
Stevenson and Central Petroleum Com
pany's farms will reach over $4,000.
A man named Mckenzie, a carpenter,
was engaged in caulking atank belonging
to the Central Petroleum Company, when
the alarm of fire was given. The cur
rent Of oil had reached the tank and at
tanned a considerable depth before he had
time to make his escape. In jumping
from the top of the tank, he fell, and be-
fore he could wade through the com
bustible fluid, with which his clothes had
become saturated, the fearful element
leaped inwraeths round and round its vic
tim. In his agony he reached a place OF
safety, but alas too late. The unfortu-
nate man expired in a very short time
after the occurrence.
Franklin is fast recovering from the
effects of the late disastrous fire of Feb
ruarv LIST. Several of our merchants,
whose places of business were destroyed,
are again in full blast, either occupying a
temporary building, erected on the site OF
the ruins Of their old stand, or removed to
another part of the town. Active prepar-
ations are being made for the rebuilding
of the burnt district, and before the sum
mer months are past, every foot of space
now covered with blackened and charred
ruins, will be occupied by commodious
and subst antial business blocks, built Of
brick.
The ladies of Franklin, under the III
pices of the Young Mems Christian As
socistion, intend TO prevent a series OF
tableaux at the Court House, on Wednes-
day evening, April 4th, the proceeds to
be applied to the purchase of a public
library. One of our benevolent citizens
has offered to donate $500 to the object as
soon as s. 900, shall have been obtained
from other sources. The Association has
now a public reading room, and a course
of lectures have been delivered before it,
during The past winter.
The oil market still continues dull.
Very few, if any, purchases have been
made since my last. On Saturday of last
week and Monday of this, buyers were a
little more numerous on the Creek than
usual, which tended towards making prices
q trife frmer. But little oil was sold,
however, the producers asking too high
figures. The asking price Of oil at Rouse
vile, on bank Of creek, is s.; at Pc
troleum Centre, on bank of creek, 1885;
on Bennehof Run, at wells, S2.75; on
Stevenson farm, at wells, S2.75.
The news of the suspension of Culver,
Penn & Co., of New York, has created q
this firm brings the crisis right to our very
doors. Connected, IS the house is, with
twelve other banks, eight of which are in
the very heart of the oil country, (all OF
which, with one exception, suspended pay
nent to-day and who hold individual de-
posts to the amount Of several millions of
money, the suspension is looked upon here
as a public calamity. The following are
the names of the banks in which Mr.. Gull
yer and Culver, Penn & Co. are interested, |
and which will be crippled, for a time at
least, through the suspension of the latter
Culver, Brooke & Co., Philadelphia
Third National Bank, New York City;
National Bank of Crawford County, |
Meadville, Pa: bridesmaids National
Bank, Pittsburgh, Pa; Venango Nation
al Bank, Franklin, Pa; Second National
Bank, Erie, Pa; First National Bank,
Titusville, Pa. National Petroleum Bank,
Titusville, Pa. First National Bank, Oil
City, Pa; Oil City Bank, Oil City, Pa.
First National Rank ~lorrv. Pa. Citi-
zen's National Bank, Logan, o.
Messrs. Alexander, Scofeld & Co,
Clark, Payne & Co, Reynolds, Bishop &
Co, and n or two other refining firms
Of Cleveland, depositOrs with the Venango
National Bank, have balances due them
the amount of from one thousand to
thousand dollars each. A large
collected about the bank this morn
ng, but the doors were closed.
FACTS.