The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-03-12
PITH0LE; A VANISHED CITY
THE STORY OF THE SUDDEN RISE
 AND FALL OF I IOWN


 syivania-wild Speculation Following a Discovery of oil.
 A marvellous creature, which sprang into existence almost in the twinkling of an eye, but from which the spirit of life fled so suddenly that birth. matur- ity and dissolution were we'll nigh sim ultaneous-such, in few words, is the history of Pithole, Pa., one of the most remarkable of towns. Less than a generation ago millions were invested in it's oil-wells; ten thousand men and a few thousand women lived there in a mad fever of sleepless speculation; a daily newspaper was published; banks did an enormous business, saloons flared, hotels were thronged, and the post office receipts and transactions were larger than those of any other in the Keystone state, excepting Philadel- phia and Pittsburg.
 But when last I visited Pithole, the only human beings there lived in a sin gle farm house, and the owner of that was ploughing the main street of the city Birds and squirrels had posses sion of former hotels, theaters, resi- dences, and the streets were over- grown-in some instances obliterated. In one direction could be seen the em- bankments of railroad which was never finished; here and there holes In the earth marked the cellars of dance- houses or other temporary structures fallen into decay or burned; and in more or less irregular lines the eye could trace the remains of row Of buildings at one time retail stores and offices of brokers, telegraph companies and express companies-more substan- tial buildings that had better with stood the rains and snows of quarter of century. But all commercial life had vanished. In the tomb provided by nature-a lovely valley with wooded slopes, a sparkling stream at it's base, and overhead the arching, blue vault lay the skeleton of the city, slowly crumbling, surely disappearing; de- serted as are the human dead too often, and like them gradually fading from remembrance.
 The site of Pithole is in the north western part of Pennsylvania, about a dozen miles from Titusville, and until the Christmas season of 1864 it was marked by two farm houses, in which dwelt thirteen persons. For several years previous the excitement over pe- troleum had increased in the original territory some ten or fifteen miles dis tant; but no one had the slightest idea that springs of oil might underlie the farm of Thomas Holmden, which bor- dered Pithole Creek. One day, how ever, a prospector named Thomas Brown appeared at the Holmden farm house. Whether MT. Holmden or any of his family imagined that aught would come of such examination is not recorded. At any rate, MT. Brown proceeded after fashion in vogue at that time by slowly walking back and forth across field and pasture, holding in his hands a "divining-rod," which consisted of a sprig of witch-hazel. This he asserted, would give positive proof of the existence of petroleum should any be there; and he evidently brought Mir. Holmden to his way of reasoning, for suddenly it was an- AoQilCoo tlletI Itlc Wdo s'pointing;" that while he held one end in his hands, the other end had slowly bent toward the ground, as if the rod were 8 piece of steel and the earth a magnet. The spot was marked care fully, and all were sure that below it would be found paying well.
 MT. Holmden was farmer of ordina- ny intelligence, who had a wife with an exceptionally acute mind. They had only a small income, possibly a few hundred dollars year. The necessary money for drilling was raised, howev- CT, and operations were begun that winter Day after day the work went on, and night after night MT. Holm- den's family discussed the situation, hoping that success would attend the experiment, yet fearing that the twig of witch-hazel might have played them false; planning what they would do should they strike oil, and wondering how they would ever recover the mon- ey expended should the well prove a s'iry hole" Now and then word would come of fabulously rich strikes near Titusvile or Oil City, to be followed all too soon by reports of failure, bank ruptcy, misery sometimes within a stones throw of gushing riches. The Holfnden family would have been oth- CT than human had they been able to live calmly during those weeks of un- certainty and dread. One night in January or February, 1865, they went to bed in very moderate circumstances, but before the sun had set again the United States we'll had been struck on their farm, and it started by yielding two hundred and fifty barrels per day, oil being worth eight dollars per bar rel at the time., One evening MT. Holmden was poor farmer, and twenty-four hours later he was in re- ceipt of an income greater than that of many foreign princes.
 News of the find travelled fast, and neighboring farmers placed fabulous valuations upon their lands, and of course stream of men hungering for wealth set toward the new field. They came from places near by and far away, on foot and in the saddle, but seldom In wagons, for the roads were so bad that horses were drowned in the mud. It is recorded that the firm of Duncan, Prather & Go. made an offer of twenty-five thousand dollars to Mir Holmden for his few acres, but Mrs. Holmden refused to sign the deed un-