, 1885-01-18
PIT HOLE.


OF the older men in Wall street the peculiar
circumstances attending the birth, phenoms-
nal growth, and final extinction Of a city
which Mr.. Tappan founded rs u business en-
t4rprise in the spring of 1865. This city has
long since grown dim In the memories of
Wal street men, and Is slowly bet surely
slipping from the pages Of commercial his
tory, but the casual review OF the events Of
Mr.. Tappan's life has brought back it's
strange career with moro than usual force
and distinctness.
Il was called Pitt Hole, and the wooded
hills OF northeastern Pennsylvania held it
in such unrelenting grasp that only the most
primitive OF civilizations usages gained
foofhold there. In tho spring OF 1s65 the
site Of Pit Hole was an almost unbroken
wilderness; three months Later, 10000 people
wcro camped on the hillside. and before
Christmas the city had a population Of fully
10000 To-day only the ruins Of a hotel and
half an old log house are found within a IA
dius OF many miles. To the people Of north
western Pennsylvania IL is remembered as
the most remarkable town over know In the
erratlc and excitable history Of the petro-
leum industry. Tha history OF this strange
place and Mr.. Tappan's connection with it
are best told, perhaps, In the language Of an
old Wall street man, whose restless nature
many years ago led him TO becoms a pilgrim
to that Mecca which, in 1865, attracted the
attention Of speculative persons in all parts
OF the world.
Ths closing days Of June, 1905 lsaid tho old
gontleman, setting back In his easy leather
chair, and gazing with half-closod eyes across
the dimpling waters Of the bay1, marked the
beginning Of the most violent commercial
excitement that this country, up TO that time,
had mown- Early In january the United
States Petroleum company, which was
organized In the spring OF 1854, drilled an oil
well on the Thomas Holmden farm, in Corn
planter township, venango county, Pennsyl-
vnnia. A dow Of oil exceeding $50 barrels a
day was found, and this subsequently in
creased to more than 900 barrels. This
caused great surprise, as several imperfect
tests Of the region had been made some time
before. Mr.. Tappan and Mr.. Frazior, in
whose honor tho first well was named, were
confident that oil in paying quantities could
be found IN a fourth sand, which, up 10 that
time, was thought did not oxist.
Leases Of land were purchased upon the
Thomas Holmden, the Walter Holmden,
the Blaokmer, the Luther Woods, the Nc
Kinney, tho Haworth, the Van Wyck, tho
Tyrrell. and the Heckert farms. With the
exception Of q few cleared fields, the terri
tory WINS almost unbroken forest. Pit Hole
creek, a rocky, PERCEPTIONS stream, ran
through the center OF tho purchase. New
wells were at once started along tho valley of
tho creek and upon the fiat portion Of the
Thomas Holmden farm
Early In juno word went out 10 Oh City,
Titusville. and the surrounding country, that
II the wells then approaching completion
produced oil the whole OF the cornplanter
township would prove paying territory. On
the Sd day Of June the Homestead wen No.
1, which was drilled on the Homestead farm
49, amN.r anrtfaI3ntu lara 80 Wrslstfa Ill Ia
large quantities. Spectators waited In al
most breathless suspense. Two weeks later,
on the Thomas Holmden farm, wen No. l
confirmed Mr.. Tappan's predictions, and be-
gan flowing at a tremendous rate. On the
18th of June, three days al or Hard, well No.
2 threw oil over tho top OF ~ derrick
Their the rush began. Tho war of ths re-
bellion was over, and thousands OF men,
eager for excitement and with plenty Of
money, charged down upon the quiet Pit
Hole valley with resistless force. The
naighboring oil towns left their work and ran
too. The place was a Wilderness; lumber
there was none. and money could not buy
shelter anywhere Only three buildings in
the vicinity-the Widow Lyons log cabin, a
small frame building occupied by the
Thomas Holmdsn family, and an unpreten-
tious structure on the Walter Holmden farm.
But men who had alopt on hard-fought bat
tle-feldn, camped out under tho health-giv-
ing pine treea, and were content 10 cook
their rude meals over a blaze Of Pine knots,
never thought Of hardship. Thor greatest
and perhaps only trouble was the scarcity Of
lumber with which 70 build oil derricks and
the difficulty of hauling steam boilers, en-
ginss, and ponderous drills over the noun
tain roads from Titusvillo and the Miller
farm.
The LIST day Of July saw a long, narrow
street laid out on the Thomas Holmden farm,
and n few scattered yellow pine buildings
aprang up along both sides Of the way. The
first OF these buildings bore the word saloon"
above Its rough, implanted door; the next
was advertised by a cloth sign, Saloon and
Restaurant" and tho third, not being in pos
session of muslin or paint brush, went into
business with a whisky barrel placed con-
~apicuously beside the entrance. The street
was full of stumps and stones and logs, but
was regarded as n fiut-clnssr roadway. If n
tsnmstsr found fault with the new Holmden
street. he could drive his team through tho
woods and so pick a wagon trail to suit
himself. The path to the first three
buildings on the stroot was plain
enough, and everybody seemed salts
hed. As well after we'll began to pour
It's Hood OF oil into the general production tho
excitement became furious. Men from all
parts of the world-ndventurers, spectators,
capitalists from Wall street, miners from the
Rocky mountains, oil producers, workmen,
sailors, negroes, and Indians-jostled and oil
bowed ono another In a mad search for
wealth. Merchants went into business under
awnings; hotel-koepers served meals In the
open air and rented bunlrs In buildings con
tanning little more than floors and one OF
two sides. An enterprising real-ostate agent
hoisted a sign, on Leases Bought and Sold
Here" and in the intervals Of business built
his Office up against the sign. The first
barbershop was in an army tent, and the
first gambling den was in a dry-goods box on
Holmden street The box cost the faro
dealer $40 In gold A laundry, however,
was not started for several weeks.
Nothing in all America has boen just like
Pit Hole. For five months II was fierce,
lawlos and u~ngovernahle. The energy that
In six weeks planted in the wilderness a city
OF $4,000 or 10000 inhabitants brooked no 10
straint Crime was common. Men were
knocked down, beaten, and robbed In the
streets; shooting and stabbing ARRAYS were
of nightly occurrence, and Sunday was set
apart for priEe-hghts on the bluff above tho
town. ~Sslf-appointed vigilance committees
made n pretense Of dealing out Justice single
handed. but IL Is an open question whether
these rangers were better or worse than
the roughs. The town grew TO it,
full sire in six weeks, but the
process Of capitalization took six
months. The postofice which was estab
lished July 81 by Capt S. S. Hill, was robbed
twice to i%naugurate the low civilization. il
had a business second in importance only to
that of Pittsburg and Philadelphia On
Sundays, between tho acts at the prize ring
on the bluff. the Office would be bosieged by
long lines OF mon Wnitfnc for news from
~God's country"-the calmsr world beyond
Every smoker should Try Little
Joker"