The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-04-16
'GOLD IN YHH PANHANDLE.
II Pours Out of the Ground in a
Liquid Form
ENRICHING HANCOCK COUNTY.
The Field as yet of Unknown DImen'
slons, but Counted on as u Rich
Producer aud u Slayer by
the Experts-New Wells,

Every day tue excitement ALnouB oll
men everywhere over the developments
and prospects Of the Hancock county
oil field grows greater and greater, Pros
peCtors, ~leasers, operators and drillers
pour into the section, and though it is
believed all the desirable ground is COW
cred by leases, there are still men in the
field taking up property on which there
is scarcely a possibility OF finding oil.
An INTgLLIuENcRR reporter knocked
around among the rigs and the people
yesterday, and thus came, as one can
come in no other way, to appreciate the
value Of the oil developments and the
excitement they have created,
An instance OF the way people are be.
ing enriched is furnished on a small
scale by the case OF a man who received
q cash bonus Of $500 for the
oil lease on little piece OF
land near New Cumberland, out OF
the line OF development and out OF
the reasonably presumable bounds OF the
production field, A man might Us we'll
pay $500 for the oil privilege Of a back
yardin Wheeling,
A man was last week offered a cash
bonus Of $1,000 for u farm worth not
over $1,000 for agricultural purposes.
He refused, Then John McKeown offer
ed him $500 cash with an agreement to
pay him 5000 II he struck q hundred
barrel well on the farm. This in I'D.
dition, Of course, TO the usual royalty OF
o~ne.eighth OF the oil produced. This
was also refused.
The SUN OF Sl00,0OO was offered Levi
Gardner for his farm, and refused. This
farm Is on llardGn's run, about three
miles back from the river. There are
now on 1t ten producing wells and but
one dry hole. 1t was on this farm that
the well came In last week which was
reported to be doing 800 barrels an hour.
1t Is rated at 800 a day, instead, but Is
expected to 80 higher when shot.
The first Hancock county develop.
ments were made in the Turkey Foot
region, south OF New Cumberland.
Friday, October 30, 1883, a well put
down by the Bridgewater Gas Company
in search Of gas, on the widow RriCe
farm, Came in q fine oil well, doing
about 80 barrels a day. 1t Is still a
producer. The strike brought other
operators, and well after well went down.
Many OF these were dry holes, but some
good wells were among them.
Then q wild cat well was put down on
the Harden's run field, and proved q
good one. Others were drilled, and the
proportion OF dry holes was unusually
small. The peculiar staying qualities OF
this field are notable, One well which
did 80 barrels after being shot, later went
up to 90, and Is now doing better than
when she began TO flow.
The Harden's run field Is three or four
miles northeast OF the Turkey foot field.
They are supposed to be connected
geologically, though the developments
do not yet show 1t,
A great deal OF property is being
leased, or has been leased, ut Holidays
Cove, about six miles from the Turkey
foot region, and the drill will be started
at once there on the Campbell farm, on
q hill east Of the Cove station. Opera.
tars have great confidence in the field.
The Hancock oil brings the same pre-.
MUM in the market as Washington oil.
1t Is piped via Washington county. The
Pipe Line Company is about to build a
station and office In New Cumberland,
and locate u buyer there. II the aeld 10
as extensive as " seems 10 be, the other
producing seCtiona have an important
rival. The best oil mems judgment is
that the territory will equal the Butler
Geld,
One OF the Fiaher Bros, who are ION
neCted with the Standard interest, and
John MCkeown, the boss independent
operator, were both at New Cumberland
Yesterday. MCKeown came to Wheel.
Ing in the afternoon on business cor.
neCted with his suit against the Fishers
over u farm on which the latter had a
lease, but which MCKeown had bought
outright. Operations there are tied up
by an injunction issued by the Circuit
Court here.
Levi Gardner was pretty badly of
when oil was struck on his farm. He
had had tough luck, and his farm was
mortgaged. When a big well came in
recently on his farm, he stood and threw
his hiatt rs high as the derrick, and yelled:
"Ain't that luck Gee gosh, but this
is greatl Boys, this beats HI"
That is an emphatic, II homely, ex.
preston Of the general view in Hancock
concerning the oil boom. It is enriChing
everybody who has enterprise enough
to take advantage OF it. Something Of
the rush can be judged from the fact
that at one farm house one day and night
sixty.iive strangers were accommodated,
They slept in the haymow or anywhere.
The sale Of lumber is a considerable
item, and other supplies are enjoying a
boom, while not enough teams can be
employed in the county to do the haul.
ing which is TO be done. This drawback
makes the development slower than II
otherwise would be, but time will rem.
edy II. New Cumberland Is the chief
beneficiary Of the boom, and signs OF its
effects can be Q Oh all sides there.
THE TAYIURSTOWN FIELD.