The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-07-28
Oil in a Garden.
PROSPECTING IN POTATO PATCHES.
tMeadville Republican, July 221

PROSPECTING IN POTATO PATCHES,
[Meadvile Republican, July 22.l
A month or so ago Sebastian Haehn.
blacksmith living i'm Mechanic
street, Titusville, was spading in his
garden after u heavy rain. AS he
turned up the earth he noticed that
little pools of crude petroleum formed
in the cavities made by the spade.
He dug pit four feet deep. 1t filled
up with oil to such an extent that he
dipped out five barrels full. The oil
was of excellent quality, and Haebn
sold his five barrels to the Octave oil
refinery. Week before last Haehn
dug another "well' i'm his garden. 1t
responded with yield of two barrels
an hour. The well attracted great at
tention. 1t produced eighty barrels,
and then ceased to flow. The excite
ment over the novel oil territory died
out soon afterward. On Monday last
the news spread through the city that
Haehu had opened another well in
his garden, and that it was yielding at
the rate of thirty-siX barrels IL day.
Hundreds flocked to the scene of the
new oil operations. The well was To-
Gated i'm the southwest corner of
Haehn's potato patch. With large
tin hand pump the owner was taking
out of the hole two barrels of oil an
hour. His previous well had also
started again. From that one of
Haehn's sons was taking oil ut the
rate of twenty barrels day.
Immediately following this strike
| of the lucky blacksmith a great de-
| mand for leases of adjoining gardens
arose. Such an oil field had never
been heard of before. Without capi-
tai, and with no tools but shovel. an
| operator could sink n well and strike
the "sand" in half an hour. The
right to dig on four feet of mans
garden became worth S. bonus and
one-fourth of the oil. For three days
Mechanic and adjacent streets have
been thronged with excited spectators
of the new operation in oil production,
and parties anxious to get "a piece OF
the territory" On Tuesday night
Theodore Avery, who has "a coal yard
| adjoining Haehn's garden, put down
II well. At the depth of four feet ne
struck oil. The yield was barrel an
hour. He has put down four more
wells since. The five wells were yes
terday yielding eight barrels an hour
| The success of the Haehn and Avery
ventures led to q wide extension of
this strange territory. A vacant lot
OH Washington street southeast from
Haehn's was yesterday the scene of
active operations. Three producing
wells were put down. The rest were
clusters" Capt. Pickering went to
"wildcating" under II shed near th.
| Buffalo, Pittsburg and Warren rail-
road track south of Haehn's. He dug
to Il depth of eight feet, and got well
good for ten barrels a day. Two
wells were put down on the ground of
the Octave refinery. At five feet oil
was found. One of the wells is pump
| ing twenty-five barrels a day. The
| McNe0wn Garden, east of the refinery,
was leased by j. p. Thomas, VIM. Nc
Kenzie and ]. Nj. Britou. Thomas
! took the northern half of the garden.
He got two five. barrel wells of excel
lent green oil. The other parties
struck oil, but it was OF a red hue, and
had the appearance of being mixed
with tar. In the gardens along the
east side of Washington street several
wells "camc in' as good producers,
but the oil was of an inferior quality.
All the property along Oil Greek
streets, has been leased by A. j. Kraft
ti'. liz VIII ucNSlop IL Oii Il I'l &c
scale.
The original Haehn territory main
tains its yield, and is being further
developed. Haehn has made trench
all around his garden and one through
the centre. Into these the oil collects
rapidly. The operator is putting up
! tanks to receive his oil, as there is a
great scarcity in barrels. Haehn's
garden Is now yielding 100 barrels Il
day. He expects to increase it to 200.
The oil is worth at the tannery $l.l
barrel. The price of one barrel de-
trays all the expense of putting down
a well. Operations are carried on day
and night. That part Of the city is
| lighted up all night by the flaming
| torches OF the oil men. The weird
scene is witnessed nightly by hun
dreds of people. There are no indi-
cations of any decline in the yield OF
this oil, and Haehn, the lucky discov.
erer Of the field, is laying away not
less than Sl00 day as clear profit.
There are many theories in regard
to this unheard-of presence Cf petro.
! leum in large quantities so near the
surface. One is that the oil is the
leakage of tanks and pipe lines
which has sunk into the earth until it
reached the gravelly deposit in which
! it is now found in pools. Another is
that this deposit has been forced up
| from the true petroleum sand stratum
by some unknown agency, and caught
| and retained in the stratum where ii
now lies.
|