Wichita eagle., 1890-01-21

the great rush of people into this wonderful
region This was once great oil metropolis,
with banking Offices, scores OF hotels aud all
| the commercial facilities OF q city. Being so
near to Oil City and Petroleum Center, its
| population never got above 10000, if it
reached that figure, but it was one OF the
| most active cities in the belt OF oil. 1t was
surrounded by some of the wonderful flow
ing wells of early oil days The Widow Nc
CEntock farm, which fell into the possession
of Johnny Steele, afterwards known to the
world as ''Coal Oil Johnny" IS within sight
of this town. Like all other oil towns, Rouse
vile has been swept by fire number OF times,
and there is but little OF the old town left.
What Il left OF il is curious Old relic, In
which there is but little to suggest the hustle
and excitement and the, fortunes lost and
won in former days. Goal Oil Johnny" is
by 10 means the only man who found an easy
fortune within sight Of this queer old town.
The first great oil fire was here when the
Rouse well was burned, and Henry Rouse.
after whom the town was named, was burned
to death, along with sixteen other men. The
story of this tragedy has been told IN these
columns and need not be repeated. 1t was
the most appalling tragedy in the history OF
oil fires, and, being the first, It created Won
derful sensation. There has been talk OF
erecting monument on the site OF the fire
to honor the memory of the sixteen men who
were the first to perish in the development of
the oil region. Col. Drake, who drilled the
first oil well, has no monument yet and the
citizens Of Housewife do not believe that
either monument Will ever be erected.
If oil were found in a literal lake, instead
of in a porous rock, Housewife, like Petro-
lellm Center, would have been situated over
lake of oil 4 number of big wells were
struck within the limits of the town, and
great ''gushersn surrounded the town on
every side. Not only were the Oil creek
fats here wonderfully prolific, but Cherry
run, which ennpties into Oil creek at this
point, produced some wells only second in
richness to the Oil creek wells Some of the
largest Of these were near Housewife and it
can be said that the wells in the vicinity
have produced enough oil to have sub
merged the town. The money value of the
Oil taken from the ground near housewife is
above $50, 600, 900. The Story farm alone has
produced about $40, 900, 900 worth of petro-
leum, and still has a small production-per-
haps 100 barrels per month. The first well
drilled at Housewife, the third on the creek,
as stated, was put down by the primitive
method of a ''spring pole engine" This was
no engine at ali, but a stout sapGng, or
spring pole to which the tools were attached.
Three or four men would pail the spring pole
down and its spring would lift the tools for
the next stroke. This was called "tramping
a well down." and as many Of them were
tramped down to the depth of 800 and 600
feet the operation was very slow and tedious.
No less than $50 wells We're put down on Oil
creek in this crude way before steam was APP
piled to the work. W here three months were
often required to drill well then, one is
drilled now in ten days and even less.
The history of some of the big wells near
Housewife is the history Of many, and will
serve to illustrate the amazing richness Of the
oil belt in this section. The Reed well, on
Cherry run, was struck July II, 1864. 1t
waS located on an acre of leased ground. The
land interest was to receive one-quarter of
the oil and the owners Of the well the balance.
One well was put down, and in ninety days
from starting the drill S7S5, 900 had been real
lied from it by the working interest alone.
The NingO Oil company, Of Philadelphia,
bought OUT one-quarter Of the land interest in
the well for $3.50, 900, after the owner had al
ready sold $40, 900 worth of Oil from it. Mr..
Reed, after selling $4,000 worth of oil from
his account, sold to Bishop, Bissen & Co.
half of his interest for $500, 600. A man named
Frazier had an interest in the well that Melted
him Sl00 coo ia oil, and he afterwards sold his
interest for 5100, 900 cash. Most of these sales
were cash in hand. The Mingo Oil company
paid $3.50 900 for their interest in one pay
ment Three other wells were drilled on this
one acre of ground, and from the four wells
S., 900, goo were realized This is perhaps the
richest acre OF ground ever developed in the
oil country The original owners were men
Of small means, and all became wealthy from
this single transaction. Even the Piiiladel |
phia and New York companies who bought
them out at such extravaganza figures real !
lied handsomely from their investment |
There is no sign of the Reed well or any of
its rich neighbors now. The places where the
derricks and tan Ks stood are grown high with |
weeds and bushes, and from the mine of
wealth tie spot has returned to its primitive
wildness and worthlessness.- pa |
Special.