Huntsville gazette., 1883-02-17
Where the Oil Interest Centers.

The oilproducing fields of Pennsyl
vania and New York are situated at IN
tsrvals along a line making an angie OF
forty-gve degrees with the parallels OF
latitude, and extending from Alleghany
County, ~ Y, down through Pennsyi-
vania in a southwest direction to the
West Virginia border. The long ana
narrow maps of the region are bounded
at the top and bottom by forty-hve-
degree lines; the right hand margin IS
the northeast limit, the left hand the
southwest, and the parallels and me-
ridian lines make KS on the sheet. In
the reports of operations printed peri
odically, the oil-producing territory IS
divided into the Allegheny field, in
Allegheny County, a tract some twelve
miles long and two and one-half wide; /;
the Bradford field, in McKean County,
Penn, and Cattaraugus County, n T.,
an irregular tract about twenty miles
long, and from three to nine In width;
the Warren and Forest field, in the
counties of those names in Pennsylvania,
comprising four or five small tracts; :;
gHE and the Lower field, in yenango, But
Ter, Clarion and Armstrong Counties,
Penn, which field was the scene of the
first great oil excitement something like
q score of years ago. The Bradford
field is by far the most productive. Its
eleven or twelve thousand wells yield
considerably more than half of the oil
produced. 1t was opened in the fall Of
1877. 1t is now regarded as a fully
developed field. The Allegheny field is
next in Importance IS regards produe-
tion. 1t was opened in April of last
year. About two thousand producing
wells are in this field and many new
ones are opened every month.
The oTer field Is rppardp6 like the
Bradford and Allegheny fields, as
being pretty accurately outlined by dry
holes; and it is not expected that any
new well opened in either of these fields
will break the market.
The Warren and Forest field, how
ever, is in part unexplored by the bit of
the driller. In this field is the famous
Cherry Grove tract where, in May last,
the jumbo of oil wells, $685." was
opened; where, a few weeks later,
city had grown up; where at one time
" three wells were spouting 5000 barrels
of oil each every twenty-four hours;
where nearly $4,000 barrels day was
the production of the completed wells
during the month of August, sending
the price of oil down from eighty-five
cents a barrel to less than fifty cents;
and where now there is little but drained
rock below ground, and rather duh
oil settlement above. But in the south
ern end of this field are the tracts
toward which the attention of producers
and spectators is drawn more than
toward any other. The wildcat venture
in this vicinity was the Shannon well,
opened about the middle of last Sep
TENDER, which flowed very strongly at
first. The Anchor Oil Company put
down well near by, which was opened
toward the last of November with q
good showing. Many other wells are
drilling in this region. Whatever hap
pens in the field to greatly influence the
market in the near future is likely to
take place in this undeveloped tract; !;
and until some other wildcat venture
opens pool equally promising, the at
tention of spectators viii be directed
toward this feld.-Bradford { (Pa.) Cor.
NJ Y Sim