Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-10-24
AN OIL KINGS WHIMS.
Some Of the Eccentricities Of 6
Rich Pennsylvania.

Building Expensive Roads That Lead
Nowhere q Favorite Pastime-
His Vast Estate, His Store
and His House.
One of the oldest men in the oil
country, or anywhere else for that
matter. is Ed E. Clapp, of President,
Pa, seven miles above Oil City on the
Allegheny river. He is a bachelor
about sixty years of age. 1t is some
times said that he is the richest man
in the oil country. and this estimate of
his wealth is based on the fact that he
owns 5000 acres of land right on the
border of the rich developed oil terri
tory. Wells drilled on one edge of
his tract has proved absolutely that
some of his property is valuable Pc
troleum lands, and the supposition is
that the great bulk of his 5000 acres
is equally good. If this be the case,
he is not only the richest man in the
oil regions, but he is veritable
Monte Cristo. One of Clapp's Pc
culiarities is that he will not sell or
lease an acre of his lands. nor will he
operate it himself for oil. He has
been paying heavy taxes on it for
twenty years, and on some of it per-
haps for longer time The land
is wholly unproductive as it lays.
None of it is good for agricult-
ural purposes. A large part of it
is timbered, but, as he never cuts a
tree, he derives no income from this
source. Six thousand acres of this
land lies in Venango County, and in
as wild and unbroken section of
country almost as there is in the
State. and yet without there being
any possible use for them he has
built fine roads and drives all through
his lands. Many of these roads are
built through unforbidding sections
and consequently at great expense.
Road building has long been hobby
with Clapp. He has his own theory
about road building. He is his own
engineer and never lays out a road
above certain very low grade. and
consequently the highest of the mount
ainous sections of his lands are
reached by easy grades. Some of
these roads wind around the hill for
miles until the summet is reached.
None of these fine roads 60 to any
place in particular. Some of them
end abruptly in the woods and have
remained in this uncompleted con-
dition for years, while he goes ahead
building roads in other parts of his
forest lands. All these roads start
from Clapp's private residence at the
river, a building which in itself illus
trates the peculiarities of the builder.
Clapp builds his fine roads mostly
by employing men who come along
looking for work, and as his generos-
ity in this particular is widely known
he has a great many applicants. 1t is
thought by some that he builds these
roads to give employment to idle men.
and for no other reason. Not wish
ing to give money direct and receive
no equivalent, thus inviting impo-
sition from unworthy persons, he sets
them to work quarrying stone and
working on his roads. Be this as it
may, he has got many miles of mag
nificent driveways through a large
tscope of country that is almost mac
cessible. Nearly all of these roads
cross wild streams. and a great deal of
masonry is necessary tor bridge build
ing. The stone-work in one of these
bridges alone cost him $1,000. The
stone was all quarried on his own
land. and this simply represented the
actual labor Along his roads at
intervals he has erected fine watering
trOughs for horses. These are
put up in the most approved man
ner. All are built high enough
SO the horses can drink without the
driver getting out of the vehicle to
let down the check-rein Some of
these troughs are carved out of solid
rock. The first one of these that the
traveller en- counters in ascending the
river hill from Clapp's residence has
a large sign erected some sixteen feet
above 1t, bearing. in large. black let
tiers, the appropriate legend: Horse
Delight"
Many of the watering troughs are
inscribed in some such manner. Clam
believes in plenty of cold water for
both man and beast, and will allow no
Intoxicating liquor to be sold or drank
on any part of his big scope of coun-
try if he can help it. 1t is often the
case that there is not horse passing
over these roads tor many days, and
perhaps weeks. at a time to drink
out OF these fine troughs, but there
they stand, all the same. constantly
full and running over with pure
mountain spring water. ready for any