Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1890-01-31
AN OIL KINGS yyHIMS.
Como OF tho Eccentric tics OF a
Rich Ponnsylvanian-


puiidluu ExpensIvs Roads That Load
Nowhere favorits Pastiine-
uIs Vast E-tat~, Ills store
and Ills House.
Ono OF the oddest mon In the oil
country, or anywhere else for that
matter. is Ed + Clapp. OF President.
Pa. seven miles above Oil City on the
Allegheny river He Is bachelor
about sixty years OF age. 1t is some
times said that he Ia tho richest man
In the oil country. and this estimate OF
his wealth Is based on the fact that he
owns 1900 acres OF land right on the
border OF tho rich developed oil terri
tory. Wells drilled on one edgo OF
his tract has proved absolutely that
some OF his property is valuable pc
troleum lands. and the supposltlon is
that the great bulk OF his 5000 acres
Is equally good. II this be the case.
no Is not only the richest man In the
oil regions. but he Is veritable
Moutc 1Tih0 Vut VI NiupPb pc-
culinrities is that he will not sell or
lease an acre OF his lands. nor will he
operate II himself for oil. He has
been paying heavy taxes on It for
twenty years. and on some OF Il per-
haps for longer time The land
Is wholly unproductive as 1t lays.
None of It is good for agricult-
ural purposes. A large part OF 1t
Is timborcd, but. as he never cuts a
tree. he derives no income from this
source Six thousand acres OF this
land lies Ia Yenango County, and In
ns Wild aud unbroken section OF
country almost as there Is in the
State. and yst without thore being
any possible use for them he has
built ilno roads and drives all through
his lnndA Many OF those roads are
built through unforblddlng 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 road
above certain very low grade. and
consequently the highest OF the mount
ainous sections OF his lands arc
reached by easy grades. Some Of
these roads wind around the hill for
miles until tho summet Is reached.
None OF those ino roads go 20 any
place in particular. Some OF them
end abruptly In tho woods and have
remained in this uncomplotcd 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 ut the
river. u building which in itsolf illus
trates the poc,liaritics OF tho builder.
Clapp builds his fine roads mostly
! by employing mon who como along
looking for work, and rs his generos-
ity In this particular 10 widely known
he has great many applicants 1t is
thought by some that he builds these
roads TO give employment to idle men.
md for no other reason. Not wish
Ing TO give money direct and receive
no equivalent thus inviting impo-
sitlon frSm unworthy persons. he sets
them to work quarrying stone and
working on his roads. Bo this as It
may, no has got many miles OF mag
niflcent driveways through large
scope OF country that Is almost mac
cessiblc. Nearly all Of these roads
cross wild streams, and a great deal oi
,,ssonrs T. racassa,s ,ar hr,dra Mill.
,nr n'ha s,ono-,.o,.,, H. onaot ,has,
hr,dcas oIona cost hir sS 900 rha
s,ors' was iii ovarriad on his own
lad ,nd t,,s s,,nrrv ronrosaa,od ,ho
$500, I.ho- a,c. h,s noa5s !,
,n,srvo,s ho Ia. arocsea ana wa,ar,rc.
,ro,ehs for bnrsas Tbasa .ro
M, I'M IN ,ba most onrrovad mar.
nor All nre bu,it bIch enough
go tha borses can arinlr ,si,hort ,ba
dr,y.r r.,,,rs ~, ., ,,a roh,c,o -
,at dowr the oha,L-roir Sono q,
49, ,ro,rhs ~ aa,,,oa H., =, so,,a
rao,, Ths a., 49, =, 49, ,ha, ~
,ravelsr On co,r,ers in ascerding tba
,ivar Mn Irom C,ar,,'s rosidonca hos
iaroo s,cn aroc,ad soua siv,aar ,oo,
above "a hearing IN lorre bloclr let
49, ~ arrror,.,a Il ,nncn5, ..IIorso,.
DolIght"
M.nv of ,ha w.,or;,c ,ronch. .ro
Inscribed in somo sucb marner C,nnn
bolieves in nlentv Of cold w.,or pr ~
botb man and beast. and will allow no