The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-11-13
FOLLOWING !.
THE GAS BELT.
1t Is Believed More Gas Could
Be Found To the
SOUTH EAST OF ALLIANCE.
Old Wells, Drilled Many Years Ago Rss
OIL, Were Abandoned Bscsuss the
q ~ Wa Too Strong--Msy
Bs Reopeued.


borders of Carroll and Columbiana
counties tell many stories Of the old
time oil wells drilled in those neigh
borhoods when The well that gave forth
gas was pronounced q failure because
It interferred with the flow Of oil. The
same vein in which gas has just re-
Gently been struck at Alliance was un-
penetrated along the eastern
borders Of the. county more than 30
years ago. when drlllers first began
searching for petroleum. II was years
after that gas first began to be used as
light. And even after It was used for
lighting purposes. 1t took people sur
prislngly long time to learn that 1t
could be utilized as fuel as well. The
first town in the country, so far as
known. to use the natural gas Tor fuel
was the town of East Liverpool, In CO.
lumbiana county, where. back In the
seventies, three or four citizens discOv-
cred gas in q well that had been drilled
for salt, and on drilling II further So
cured enough gas to pipe to their homes
and use for fuel. Gas Is still used rs
fuel In the great potteries and fully one
half the homes in East Liverpool.
there has been some talk of drilling in
the old abandoned wells in the south
and southeast, in the hope of finding
gas there. Such ventures have been at
tended with success elsewhere in the
country and it is believed that the gas
belt might be traced on down toward
the southeast by this means. ~
1t is surprising what quantities of gas
were found at one time and another
over Ohio. only to be abandoned or bot
tied up, and the wells declared useless.
In a recent article, the Cuyahoga Falls
Reporter tells the story of developments
thirty or forty years ago. in the north
of the state. The Reporter says:
FOUND PLENTY OF GAS.
1--WE were recently talking to a man
who worked on the Peninsula oil wells
way back from 1860 or a little later.
At that time so many fortunes were
made in Pennsylvania that the excite
ment spread over part of eastern Ohio.
At that time well that gave nothing
but gas was counted a failure and the
quantity of oil must be large to entitle
the discovery to be given any impor-
tance. Peninsula wells were all produc-
ers, as that term Is now understood. ex-
cept one that was bored near Everett.
There was gas and oil in each one ac-
cording to this mans say so.
1.-The well that showed strongest gas
was put down near Lonesome Rock, on
the Ohio canaf.q and was located on q
little cape of land jutting out into the
stream on the basin. This land was
Ia 10 hpI ot,I
boiler sheds, but little else. Drilling
went on with many stops and inter-
ruptions down some hundreds Of feet.
NO RECORDS KEPT. l-
"At that time the rocks giving oil and
gas were but little known. so that no
records of borings are now available
even If they exist at all. The depth Of
drilling was kept a secret from the
public and from the ordinary workman.
Our informant believes that some of
these wells were put down to the Tren-
ton rocks. as the rigsAwere the same as
now used in the very deepest wells near
Barberton. ~
1.-The Lonesome Lock well proved to
be strong gasser and was drilled into
the rock late at night When drilled In
the supply of gas was so strong that the
tools, weighing several thousand
pounds, were thrown out of the well
by the gas. The escaping gas roared
like the escape from boiler and could
be heard for more than a mile. Secrecy
was the cry. Without waiting for the
news to get out. a seasoned maple plug
about six feet long, of the diameter of
the low down castings, was lowered
down about 1900 feet and driven se-
curely into the pipe. Some water and
cement on top served to shut off the
gas. M u III.
Several other wells were drilled al
other points about half a mile apart ur
the river. The we'll In Peninsula had
oil in 1t in small quantities, and Is de-
scribed as heavy and, thick and of q
greenish yellow color 1t was. no doubt
| a fine lubricating oil according to lateI
standards This well was plugged dowr
about 500 feet. i'
ALL DEEP WELLS.
Another producing well was drilled
on or near what is or was the Minki
place, on or near the Northampton line
| Our informant says these were all deer
1 Wells, Dut tiidl tile uTiiiets ulu hoI BbNs
| out much about. the real depth--tha
| was kept secret. This Minks well had {
fair amount Of oil In 1t Of the SAM
heavy order, black and sticky. He hal
helped to ball out dozens Of barrels o
the oil which was secretly barreled vi
and sent away. This well has q solit
white oak plug driven down into th
casing several hundred feet below tn
surface. He knows no reason why thes
wells-and- their discoveries were no
more widely known at the time, beyon
his belief that the gas was considers
valueless at that time and the oil wa
I insufficient when measured by tn
gushers of OIL Creek, and SO failed t
justify putting in pumps. They wer
looking for bigger things than 20
barrel bumpers" He thinks II thes
wells could have the plugs drilled ou
that good paying oil wells would b
found in one or two OF tHe vets abov
Peninsula. ,,sl
"It was. he says an opinion OF tn
!. L.. Il.