The Indianapolis journal., 1896-04-03
A BIG OIL COMPANY
ONE ORGANIZED YESTERDAY, WITH
MAI. G. T. DOxEY AT ITS HEAD.
Four thousand Acres Leased-Major
Doxey Thinks Oil II Under In
dianap0Iis.

Yesterday the Indiana OH Company, in
corporated under the laws of the State, was
organized with subscribed capital stock Of
800 900. The following is the board of direc-
tors: Benjamin johnson, Richmond; Harry
Miller superintendent of the Vandalia rail-
road; John c. New. Indianapolis; L. C.
Boyd, Gas City; G. 7. Doxey. Anderson.
The directors organized by the choice of c.
T. Doxey, president; l.. c. Boyd, vice presi-
dent and treasurer: d. NJ. Ransdell, secre-
tary.
Among the stockholders are John f. Mil
ler. superintendent of the Panhandle lines
west of Pittsburg; d. p. Erwin. Secretary
of State Owen: Mayor Brashear. of Gas
City; Judge Bundy, OF New Castle; 1. s.
Gordon, of Indianapolis; P. w. Smith, of
Richmond: c. II. Walton, superintendent of
the Chicago division of the Pennsylvania
lines; w. n. Jillson. of indianapolis; c. F.
Smith, Of indianapolis, and c. I. Brush, OF
Indianapolis.
The company has leased four thousand
acres in the oil region and will at once sink
twenty-five or thirty wells. 1t is the purpose
of the company to secure at once, before 1t
passes into the hands cf the Standard Oil
Company, forty thousand or fifty thousand
acres of the best oil land, TO the end that
that valuable resource of the State may be
utilized at home. If the company Is success
ful 1t hopes to develop oil near indianapolis
and eventually 10 pipe IL into this city,
where a refinery will be erected The opera
tions Of the company will extend to Han
cock, Henry, Madison, Delaware, Randolph,
Blackford, Adams. Jay Wells, Grant, Ham
ilton and Marion counties, in all of which
oil has been found Ii is the largest oil COM
pany yet organized in the state state, and ID 1t car can
gressive development of the industry will
warrant.
Major Doxey. in speaking of oil fields in
general. said he had no doubt that oil Will
be flowing in this county not more than
three miles from the city within the next
three. years. As to the possibility of the
Broad Ripple field he thought there can be
no possible doubt that OH can be found there
in paying quantities He spoke of the ex-
perience at the Atlas works, when a well
ago. The drill penetrated the Trenton rock
about eight feet. No gas was found, but
oil began to show and work was stopped
because the company did not want TO nave
an oil well on its hands.
The gas field of Indiana" said Mr.. Dox-
ey, is seven times larger than any one
has been that oil follows 1t, first showing all
around the edge of the gas field and finally
being found throughout the territory. 1t is,
entire gas field of Indiana will finally be an
oil field seven times larger than any other
oil field Fortunes of immense size have been
9maSSe0
and Ohio. and there Is every reason to be-
lieve that Indiana promises more to her
citizens, If they will embrace the oppor-
tunity. than even the palmy days OF the
There are many places near here where
oil has been found but not developed. Oil
was recently found just west Of NSbesyile Noble
was we'll at Broad Ripple that the owner
was compelled to close because the flow of
oil was running fsrm land and ,a5,,, It had a not
might have yielded under proper develop
ment The Atlas works went deep enough
to find that oil would be certainty if the
well should be shot, and then quit because
oil was not wanted.
People in the gas belt are very jealous
Of their gas and they know that when Oil is
found there is known limit placed on the
supply of gas. For this reason the people
of the State seldom learn of the finding of
oil when it is accidentally struck within pay
ing gas territory. The gas is so much more
valuable as an incentive to bring factories
that the gas towns do not want 1t known
when oil is found dangerously near them.
county, but how many people, except those
who are closely watching oil, ever heard Of
1t? Last fall 1 saw one of the finest wells
ever drilled not more than ten miles from
Munce, yet that well is now closed and not
a dollars worth of oil is being taken from
it 1t was shot for. gas just before noon and
there was such flow of oil that 1t was al
most impossible to shut it in. Before 1t was
finally closed the oil had covered nearly ten
acres of land and was standing in puddles
all around the place. 1t was well that
might have yielded 800 a day or more net
profit, but to guard the gas it was closed
and remains so.
THAT is a little of the history of gas in
this State. have no doubt that in three or
four years Indiana will be producing oil in
now in the business. BY taking hold while
we can secure leases there Is no reason why
Indiana should depend on the Standard Oil