The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-05-11
A NEW WASHINGTON,
WHAT OIL HAS DONE tEoH HER,
The os,aid old College Seat takes on New Life,
AskotOh of the History OF her Boom,
Gold that ISSusS from the Ground
UudiSgsd-sOmsthlHg about Gas.

Gold that ISsueH from the Ground
adiEgsd-sOmSthlug about Gas.
Special Correspondence Of he LRiGlt0eRoeT
WASHINGTON, Pa, May l0.-To any
person familiar with the Little Washing
ton Of old, who has not visited the town
in the past year or so, a day spent her
has q great deal Of interest, Within thu
past two years q revolution has taken plact
in this once staid, sleepy town. Itis stale
and sleepy no longer. In fact, such {
change has come upon the place that tht
old residents who had become attached t.
their way Of living begin to object to thu
encoroachments Of the new interests ant
new comers, 1t is noticeable, however
that among the class who find subject fol
complaint and apprehension in the chang,
ing character Of the place, there are mol
numbered any upon whose farms oil OF
gas has been found, nor any who have
leased small sliCes OF their land at large
prices.
As one approaches Washington now
from any direction, numerous lofty der.
riCkH attract his attention, They are
scattered everywhere for o distance o!
perhaps two miles on each side OF the
town, OF the districts outside Of this
immediate vicinity where oil and gas have
been found or arc being sought, cannot
speak now, This field find quite large
enough for one letter.
A MARVELLOUS GROWTH.
The development Of the oil interest here
Is one Of the modern wonders OF the world,
About the middle OF March, 1884, a mum.
ber Of Washington gentlemen who had
formed "The Peoples Light and Heat
Company" began to sink well at the
spot selected for them by Prof. |. @. White,
Of the West Virginia State University, for
the purpose Of securing gas for fuel and
perhaps for lighting purposes. This was
on the Harvey farm, two mileB from town,
On May 80 the we'll "Came I'M good
gasser, and the gas was turned into the
pipes OF the company and supplied to
customers for domestic and manufacturing
purposes.
Some people thought the Peoples Com.
pany was foolish to go two miles out Of
town and pay the expense OF piping. The
Citizens company sank well In the town,
thinking to get the gas there and furnish
1t at rates which would drive the Peo-
ple's company out OF the field. The well
came In In August, 1886, q regular oil "gush.
er." This astonished not only the Clti-
zens' company, but the oil world. The
we'll was begun year ago tomorrow I;
on the 30th day Of last month there were
fourteen oil wells completed, sixty.two in
process OF drilling, and there were twenty
eight derrlcks completed or building. At
that time the output Of oil In the county
aggregated 4,73S barrels per day-the
largest daily output In any oil field in the
country.
ONLY THE DKdINNIEd.
Yet the oil business ia only in its In.
fancy In Washington. There are now, by
the best estimates l could obtain to-day,
about seventy.five "rigs," or derricks up,
seventeen producing oil wells, ranging IN
daily product from barrels TO the eflor.
nous flow OF 1000 barrels, eight or ten
strong gassers, including the Smith No, 2
well, which Is admitted 10 be the greatest
gasser in the country, and the roar Of
which can be heard, l am told, mile
and q half awayl Only two "dry holes
wells producing neither gas nor oil-ex.
let In this 6eld, one OF them belonging to
the Union Oil Company, on the Israel
Weyrick farm, and the other to Con.
roy 4 johnson land the Union Oil Com.
pany, on the K. w. Davis farm. This
we'll Is the farthest northwest in the dis.
triCt. II is valuable as tending to define
the limit Of the producing field.
Nearly all the territory considered de.
slrable here Is taken. A few derricks are
TO be seen in back yards in the town; the
Wheeling OIL Company has It's derrick
completed, but has not yet commenced to
drill, on the grounds OF the Western Penn
sylvania Agricultural Fair Association,
near town, and on the CHARTERS railroad
track; one man told me they had refused
an oher to lease corner oi cemetery.
"rHE GOLDEN aAxTz."
When the GantE. well was drilling the
men at work on 1t declared they struck a
vein OF gold quartz. The Oil City Derrick
man dubbed the well "the Golden Gantz,''
and The Golden Gantz is It's name. It ia
we'll named. The drlllers in that hole
struck something worth more to the com.
munity than gold quartz-they found a
golden substance that needs not TO be
digged, but comes OF itself out OF the
ground. The result OF their digging has
doomed real estate 10 twice its former
price, raised rents in town in like ratio,
and made the farmers Of the vicinity
wealthy In year.
The Gantz well gave its name to the
sand from which the first dow came. II
was drilled after the Gordon well exceed
ed every flow previously heard Of, TO the
Gordon, or third sand. Most oil the big
flows are from this sand, though the
Smith No. l we'll, the largest I'LL the
Thayer No. came in, is only TO the second
sand, known as the fifty.foot sand. The
Thayer No. 2 is In the Gordon sand, and
does It's 1900 barrels day without cessa.
ton.
The depth OF a well seems to have
nothing 10 do with the case" The
Smith No. well Is 2,232 feet deep. The
"GSbby' Is 2,6ll.
"a ausnER" AND A "HEADER."
A short distance out Of town, on the
line Of the CHARTERS railroad, are two
wells within stones throw OF each other.
One Of these is the propefty.of Miller &
GutIey and the other Of Harry Shirls. The
former is a gusher-that is 10 say, the oil
flows constantly and voluntarily at q rate
Of about 100 barrels a day. Mr.. Shirts
we'll flows by "heads," but produces more
oil than its neighbor. The difference is
attributed To the amount Of gas found with
the oil, which is sufficient In the case Of
the Miller 4 Gutiey well 10 force the oil
out In q steady stream. In the other well,
the gas does not escape In large enough
volume 10 lift the oil, but aCCumulates
until there 10 enough pressure or "heal"
on 10 start q stream. This action Of the
we'll In encouraged by letting the tools
down the hole and agitating the gas and
oil az The bottom.