Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-01-19
The Growth Of Our Oil Trade,

The Growth of Our Oil Trade.
Mr.. william Gilbert Irwin, in the
Scientific American of January 14th.
writes in a most instructive and inter-
esting manner concerning the oil bus
mess of America. 1t is of particular
interest to us. whoNare indebted to the
oil business for our present prosperous
condition: We reproduce the article:
In the oil regions there always has
existed and always will exist a specu-
lative fever. The risks, the possibil-
tiles, the ebb and flow of fortunes, the
periodic frenzies and the fluctuating
prices of the product all add to the ro-
nance and interest of the oil fields, and
help them to create their own atmos-
phere.
The story of the rise of this great in
dustry has an absorbing interest. Dur
ing the last half century hundreds of
millions of dollars have been expended
in opening this vast dormant source of
wealth.
The latest available statistics (for
1866 place our annual production of
petroluem at 6O,96O,361 barrels. The
foreign product of the same year was
47,552, 1856 barrels, which makes a
grand total production of 10S.512,947
barrels. The value of this product is
upward of one hundred million dollars
and after having passed through the
refining processes and the complex
processes of modern chemistry this
crude oil represents a myriad of diver
sifled finished products of industry and
its total value is enormous.
Like other similar branches of trade,
all this vastness has. sprung from the
work of some farseeing genius and the
work of some few pioneers who lived
in the van of their time. Northwest
ern Pennsylvania can well claim the
honor for the Inauguration of the oil
trade, and 1S49 was the year of its
birth. The existence of oil in North
western Pennsylvania and Western
New York was known to the Indians
from the earliest days. When the first
French came into this region they were
shown the oil springs, and the earliest
English settlers were aware of the
presence of those on Oil Creek. In the
year 1919 the presence of petroluem
was noticed in salt wells sunk in Ohio.
In the early days of the century a few
gallons were occasionally gathered
from the surface of springs and taken
TO Pttsburg by the lumberman with
their RATS, and the product became
widely known under such names as
Seneca oil" British OIL" "Genesee
OIL" etc. In the early forties Samuel
Hier began the preparation and sale of
the oil, and, bottled and prepared for
medical purposes, it attained a wide
sale. His supply was obtained from an
Did salt well at Salina, on the Kiskim-
inetas.
But as yet the product had no real
commercial value. The crude oil was
not fit for lighting purposes on account
Of it's dark smoke, and its use for heat
ing purposes was also impossible. AS
l lubricant it was only used in a small
way. The first lease of oil lands, with
4 view to putting down an oil we'll,
ever made in this country, was that of
the tract containing an old oil spring,
located in Cherrytree township, Ven
!. ID, Angler to Brewer, Watson &
Company in the year 1853 The lease
was for five years.
But this venture was not destined to
nave immediate success. In 1854 DR..
-. b. Brewer, son of the senior mem
Der of this pioneer oil firm, went to
Hanover, Mass, taking with him a
bottle of the oil for medicinal purposes
There Dr. Brewer presented the oil to
his relative, Prof. Crosby, of Dart
mouth college, and shortly afterward
it came to the notice of George H. Bis
sell, New York lawyer. A visit to the
spring was the result, and Bissel and
dis partner, Jonathan G. Eveleth, pur-
chased from Watson, Brewer & Comp
any 105 acres of tine land they had
leased. In the same year 1S54) the
Pennsylvania Rock Uil Company was
incorporated under the laws of the
State of New York, but, owing to legal
complications and the prostration of
he money maTkest, which had taken up
the stock the project was delayed for
several years
Up to this time the idea of .oring for
oil had not been thought of; but in 1855
when Bissei went to see Kier, and
learned that his preparation was OBJ
tained from a salt we'll 400 feet deep,
the idea at once came to his mind and
in 1858 Edward Drake, a stockholder
in the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Comp
any, was engaged to drill well. In |
the meanwhile the Pennsylvania Rock
oil Company was succeeded by the
Seneca Oil Comptny, of which concern
Drake became president.
Saturday August 2S, 1859, is a day
Justly celebrated in oil country history
for on that day oil was struck in the
Drake well at depth of 20 feet. Two
days later the well was nroduciuq % |
barrels per day. This waR the begin
ming of the oil excitement, the history