Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-31
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.
Anniversary of Col. brakes Discovery
of PetrOleum-The First Vein of Oil
Struck at Titusvflie Aug. 20, 1859,
aud More than $500, OOO, 900 Invested
Yel1 York Times.

Struck at TItusvflIe Aug. 20, 1859,
aud More than 500, 900, 900 Invested
Since.
Net0 York Times.
TITUsvILLE. PENN. Aug. 27.-Twentv-
five years agO tomorrow was ushered into
existence the most distnctively American
industry Of petroleum producing. PetrO-
leum and its illuminating properties had
been widely known for centuries before
on the banks Of the Irrawaddy, in British
Burmah; in Afghanistan, in Persia, in
Turkistan, in Sicily and elsewhere, but it
remained for the United States to produce
1t nd place it among the great articles
Of the worlds commerce.
Few industries are so little known. even
by Americans, as the petroleum. vet for
interesting, one might almost say roman
tic, surroundings there are none on the
face Of the globe to compare with it. not
even fishery. Moreover, its history is
longer, more marvellous and exciting than
anything in the California days of 40 or
what followed Hargreave's discovery in
New South Wales.
The first oil well ever drilled was put
down near TtusYille Just without the city
limits. Travellers on the Buffalo, New
York and Philadelphia Railroad know the
long, woody hell gorge through which the
train winds on its way through the Oil
very broad, widens near this city into a
plain in which TitusVille lies. At what
may be termed the mouth of this gorge
the first oil well was sunk in 1859 by Col.
Drake, Of New Haven, Conn. From the
old Indian days petroleum, known as
Seneca oil, had existed in the vicinity.
Large quantities floating on Oil Greek had
been gathered and used for medicinal pur-
poses. From 1874 to 1858 producing ope-
rations of a crude nature were carried on
by Messrs. Bissell & EYereth. Trenches
were dug into which oil OOzed and was
atterWard pumped into watts. In 1850 these
gentlemen sold One-third Of their property
TO some New Haven capitalists. The
Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company was
formed and Col. Drake engaged to sink a
well on the artesian principle. Work
was commenced May, 1859, and the first
vein of oil was struck Aug. 2S-25 years
ago t0-day-at a depth Of 69I5 feet.
The production of the well at first was
10 barrels day and sold for 80 cents a
barrel. In September pumping apparatus
was applied TO the well and il yielded for
long time between 20 and 80 barrels
daily. Such is a very rough sketch Of the
celebrated Drake well, By which the pos
sibllity of producing oil direct from the
rock was demonstrated. But it was. of
course, only the beginning. The tools used
were, compared with those OF today, of
primitive, almost Adamite type. Wells
were then what is called clicked down"
by the feet. The use Of steam was an
after-thOught.
Col. brakes success revOlutionized
things in the little North west Pennsylva-
MIA hamlet. Like some enchanter he had
raised his rOugh-heWn derrick in the for
est solitude and conquered a strange long
pent-up genie from the earth's interior
I The birth of new Gght-rare enchanter's
work indeed. In short time on the level
lands around Brakes well and along the
banks of the shallow ripping Oil Greek
and on the sides of the neighbOring hem
lock-clad hills resounded the rap OF the
hammer and the rumble Of the wagons as
derrick after derrick arose. The race for
I wealth, with the accompanying mad spec
ulatlOn in land, had begun. TitusVille
was in few years city Of 10000 inhab-
itants.
The next step in producing was the
drilling of wells down to the third sand
where a much larger production was
maintained. In September, 1861. the IA
nous Phillips well on Oil Creek was struck
and did 1000 barrels in the first dav. This
was followed by the Empire and other
wells. In the meantime oil was selling
all the way from 10 cents to $50 a barrel.
though the average price was 81. There
is no need to trace the extension Of one
rati0ns, the opening of new fields in We
mango, Butler, Clarion and Mexican conn
ties. in Pennsylvania, and in New York
at Richburg. The total production in
/ creased rapidly from s., 900 barrels in 1859
I to 100000 IN 1876. Then came The great
/ Bradford field, and the following year the
I production jumped to 1900. 600. Since
/ then the yearly increase has been about
/ 100000 barrels. The greatest production
! was obtained in 1852, when it reached the
/ enormous total of 81. 7S9, 100 barrels.
| Petroleum was shipped to market at
I urst ln-barges down the Allegheny river
I and by teams and rail. In time the trade
OUtgreW these modes of transit. spaadier
/ and, above all, cheaper means were.ne-
I cessary. linen came the pipe lines, which
/ today are connected with q 600 wells.
/ receiving from them daily $1,000 barrels
I Of oil. In addition they hold. stored in
/ iron tanks, over 100000 barrels. repre-
senlng the surplus or accumulated stock.
To transport and store this enormous
/ quantity Of oil about 5000 miles Of pine
/ line and over 1900 iron tanks of an aver
1 age capacity are necessary. Besides the
( 1900 miles of branch pipe lines in use in
I the region, there are 1,200 miles of trunk
! line for piping Oil to the refineries at the
/ seab0aTd in Cleveland. Buffalo and Pitts
1 burg. Between Clean, N. Y. and New
/ York city nearly 10000 barrels Of oil are
/ piped daily. Most OF the tanks at present
Z being built are of $4,000 barrels capacitv.
/ These huge cauldrOn-like structures stud
( the oil regions from end to end bv hun
/ dreds. They are uniformly . feet high
/ and 90 feet in diameter. Their average
! cost IS $4,000 The enormous stocks al
/ UOO,0o0 barrels are the oil mans bane.
keeping prices at times below the cost Of
/ production. The oil is represented by
I pipe line certificates, negotiable in any of
Z 10 nH mo Al
The OIL IN stock bears daily charge for
I tanEage OF 4l55 cents per 1000 pounds.
The export trade has kept pace with the
I productions La 1852 3 it was G00,O00 gal-
ions. In 1888 500, 900, 600 gallons were ex-
/ ported, valued at $440000OO. Our priD-
! cipal customer is Germany, and the next
/ best IS England. Perhaps the mos mar
/ Vicious feature connected with petroleum
/ IS the enormous and steadily increasing
amount of speculation done in it. The
/ volume Of business in 1888 on four Elk
( changes was as follows:
/ Barrels.
! New. York Petroleum Exchange L6l5.475, Ooo
bradford Exchange .... ....... ...L212 I4l 1000
PIttsburg Exchange .............. .2f5 $40 0OO
Total ...................... 6,Oo4, 263 200
Taking even the lowest price Of oil in
/ loS3-S314 cents per barrel-the reader can
/ get some idea OF what amount in cash the
1 foregoing figures represent. Indeed. the
| speculative interest has attained such
/ proportions that it OYershadOWs and rules
/ the entire trade, greatly to its detriment,
/ and efforts are being made to curtail il.
! The producer realizes that his interests
I and those of the speculatOr clash, and that
/ something must be done to protect his
capital. it is estimated that in the last
/ % years over 00,O0OO00 have been in
/ vested in oil-producing property. Within
| that time $4,000 wells have been drilled,
of which >, 400 were dry. The prime cost
Of drilling these wells was SI7O,945, 100.
and the value Of the product obtained
therefrOm 425,000,000 For the last 10
years about $1O,0OO,OOO has been invested
annually in new wells. The average life
of the wells since Bradford was opened
I hoe hs,-r fTr~r, I s-s--