Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-04-10
GRAFTON OIL BOOM.
History of the Development Going on

There.
Sp,ciai Correspondence Of ne Register
GRAFTON, w. VA, April S.-Tayloi
county has got the oil craze, and got fl
bad. Judging from the present outlook
however. there would seem to be some
fairly grounded reasons for this fever OF
expectancy 1t should also be borne in
mind that this is Grafton's initial boom,
and the probable outcome of the prolec-
tion ou the Woodf0rd farm is the all
absorbing topic of conversation among
her citizens. The Well is tine first and
only one that has ever been projected
anywhere throughout this section, and
realizing what the opening up of gas and
oil means for the development of Graf
ton. every move at the prospective well
is noted and commented upon here with
clock-likc regularity.
The Well i'm question is located on the
Clcc WO0df0rd farm about two and one
half miles southwest of Grafton proper
ON the ParkcrSburg branch road. The
attention was first called 10 this locality
through the visit of a prominent oil
operator of Indiana some time ago who,
after carefully examining the territory
became convinced that riches were
there Although no immediate action
followed this significant announcement
not many months passed before a mum
Der of operators from Pennsylvania, too
gethcr with q few Grafton citizens, be-
came more deeply Interested i'm the
scheme and, as time wore ON. more thor
oughly mbued with the spirit of action
A party of gentlemen from Butler
PENNSYLVANIA. soon became alive 10 the
situation. and among them is \. C.
Wilson. "a practical operator and the
President of the present operating com
pauy Mr.. Wilson also has several well,
of his own iu the State with the long
name lie and another gentleman from
Butler. by the name of Alexander, have
"a controlling interest in the prospective
Well Mr. Alexander is one of the own
ers of the Randolph county hunting
grounds. and 30 was while CEN route "a
the land of the game that hc was In-
yitcd 90 view the we'll during a stop
over iu Grafton Suffice it 10 say that
Mr.. Alexander saw sufficient reasons %
warrant speculation. and this. too. quite
heavily. Among others who have in-
vested iu the well is Mr.. Bradshaw of
the b. Il O. road, Mr.. Watson. of the
pump factory. and Mayor William
Chambers. of Grafton. During the
temporary absence of President Wilson.
Mr.. Chambers is acting In the executive
capacity Others who have endorsed
the feasibility of the project pccuniarily
are =. l.. Allen. the well known whole
sale merchant of Grafton; Tom Nc
Away. of the Central Hotel. and Rector
* Co.. of the big dry goods house.
Although preparations were made last
fall. the boring was not commenced un-
Oh some time DOB January. The labOrs of
of the wOrhmcn have been bcsct with
something more than the uSua. miSior-
tune. the derrick and other filings being
blown away no the outset boy heavy
gale. Many other serious delays We're
occasioucd. which. however. did not dis
hcartca the operators. and tine work
progressed.
AT ten o'clock last Saturday night the
well was down 1880 feet. and 10 is pro
posed t0 extend the boring from $500 u
zoo feet. unless the marketable fluid
&, found sooner. The labor goes ou uu
iutcrruptodly. AT a depth of little
over LOO feet gas was tdiScOv
cred. and 70 was pouring forth with vol
umc sufficient To- keep the engine run
ming. The outcome of gas was uneN
pcctcd. though acceptable. Providing
10 is found I'm sufficient quantities the
town of Grafton is 90 have the exclusive
right 90 utilize 10 for heating purpose.
for period OF three years. The densi
tvof the gas has Increased considerable
since the first of last week, when 10 wa
struck. Alta depth of 2O2 feet % ricl
vein of coal was encountered
feet thick. aud another l2-foo
vein az q depth of 200 feet
The coal thus mcarthcd is said TO Do
excellent for coke purposes. better ever
than ihc Goa. 40 Montana. With The
rapid progress that is now being made 10
boring. il is expected that oil will BE-
struck sometime this week. and whei
r. pushes there win Doe music boo the all
around these parts In view of th'
probable success of the venture. tine
company operating the wells has lcaSeD
ID tract of 2.J6O acres along the valley
including the well. so that iu the even
.uf 400 OBJ boom. To- avert proximity wells
foil is discovered 10 is predicted by th'
Mayor of Grafton that l0Origs wil. >ool
shoot up iu this vicinity.