Date.

SYNOPSIS OF THE REGISTER OF THE STATE HOUSE WELL.

Well tubed with 6-inch pipe to the rock. Inside of this a 4-inch pipe sunk several feet into the rock.

The interpretation of the section as furnished by Newberry, must be in the main accepted. But one or two important corrections are made in the scheme presented below.

GEOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE STRATA PENETRATED IN THE STATE HOUSE WELL.

6

and sandy above; dark- L. Helderberg, Niagara and
er and argillaceous be- Clinton limestones.
low.

162 Red, brown and gray Medina and upper part of
shales and marls.
Hudson River shales.

7 1058 Blue and green calcare

8

9

ous shales and lime- Hudson River and Utica
stones.
shales.

475 Light drab, sandy mag- Trenton limestone.
nesian limestone.

316 White sand-rock. (Cal- Calciferous sand-rock. ?
careous).

Upper Silurian.

Lower Silurian.

No hint was anywhere given in the record of the well of the presence of these bituminous substances in noticeable amount. The Trenton limestone was reached at a depth of 1,984 feet, as is seen from the table above given.

A deep well was drilled in Eaton, Preble county, some years since, in search of petroleum. The drilling was begun in the Niagara limestone, and was carried down to 1,370 feet or thereabouts. The drill traversed several hundred feet of Trenton limestone, but neither gas nor oil was found in noticeable quantity after the first few hundred feet were passed through.

A number of deep wells have been drilled in the Ohio Valley near Cincinnati, which have been carried through the Trenton limestone without doubt, but only insignificant accumulations of gas or oil have been found in any of them.

These facts, drawn from widely separated localities, agreed in the negative testimony which they furnished as to the petroliferous character of the Trenton in Ohio, and seemed to set aside any presumption in its favor that might arise from the petroleum found in its outcrops in adjacent states. The cause of these failures in southern Ohio, we are coming to understand. They depend on the chemical constitution of the Trenton limestone in that part of the state.

But in November, 1884, the drill revealed the presence of natural gas in large quantity, and directly afterwards of petroleum also, in the Trenton limestone underlying Findlay, Hancock county. Other wells drilled in neighboring towns soon proved the horizon productive at numerous points, but Findlay has remained to the present time the center of interest in the new field. On all accounts, therefore, it deserves to be treated first when the history of gas and oil in northwestern Ohio is given.

Discovery of Gas and Oil at Findlay.

Natural gas has been known to occur at and near Findlay since the country was first settled. In several springs that issue from the limestone outcropping in the valley of Blanchard's Fork, gas has always been known to escape in considerable quantity. The water of such springs was charged with sulphuretted hydrogen in all cases.

The first discovery of gas in excavations in or around the town seems to have been made in October, 1836. At a point three-and-onehalf miles south of the court-house, in the northwest quarter of section five, Jackson township, a man named Wade was digging a well on the farm of his brother-in-law, Aaron Williamson. The digging had been carried down ten feet and water was found in sufficient quantity. The workmen were ready to wall the well when they were called to supper. Coming back at the edge of the evening to complete the work, a lighted bark torch ignited the gas in the well, giving rise to a slight explosion. The gas appeared in quantity enough to maintain a flame which burned, as the story goes, for three months, when the snow and rain got the better of it and extinguished it. The well was never walled nor used.

In 1838, Mr. Daniel Foster dug a well on his premises, at the corner of Main and Hardin streets, Findlay. The gas appeared in quantity and the water was too sulphurous for use. It occurred to Mr. Foster to get some good from his labor, though as a source of water the well was a failure. Placing an inverted sugar-kettle in the well, he collected the gas that rose beneath it, conveying it by means of a wooden-pipe under his house to the fireplace of one of the rooms. Here he burned it in an old gun-barrel, turning the heat to some economic account. The gas has been burning in this house from that day to the present. The house is now owned by Dr. Jacob Carr. An account of the later gas-production here was given by Professor N. H. Winchell, in Geology of Ohio, Vol.

II, published in 1874 (p. 366-7). He quotes from a letter of Dr. Carr, which bears date February 4, 1872: "I have lighted my house during the last nine or ten years from an adjoining well, which, at first, was dug to the rock, seven feet from the surface of the ground, for the purpose of procuring water for house use. The gas comes through crevices in the rock and spoils the water for kitchen use. Three such wells are on my lot, which is 50 by 200 feet. I have never been able to get down to the rock without encountering this gas, and have filled up a number of wells. In 1865 a company leased the privilege of drilling on my lot. They drilled 135 feet in limestone, when the auger got fast and they gave up the enterprise. I now use gas from that well, the supply being more abundant than from those where no drilling was done.

"Gas has been struck in small quantities in various parts of the town, but unless they strike crevices there is not a sufficient supply to light a dwelling-house.

"In digging the sewers through the main street, they being an average of eight feet from the surface, ave in of sulphuretted hydrogen gas was developed which has an extremely offensive smell.

"The wells that give sulphuretted water are all from the rock. There was a well dug thirteen feet deep to the rock, striking a crevice from which issues an inexhaustible supply of highly impregnated sulphur water. of sugar of lead in a bucketful of this water colors it an intense black.

A very small quantity

"The gas which I use was analyzed in 1865 by Professor Chilton, of New York City, and pronounced by him to be light carburetted hydrogen, and to have come from petroleum."

These statements, made fourteen years ago, show very plainly the state of things with reference to gas-production which has existed in Findlay since its settlement. Gas has always been known to be present here, but it has been looked on as a nuisance, as something to be got rid of, if possible. It ruined the water of many of the wells in the town proper, and it gave rise to frequent explosions where excavations were made.

The amount of gas produced was recognized by good observers as considerable. As far back as 1864, Dr. Charles Oesterlin urged the construction of proper reservoirs by a company or by the town, so that the gas could be used for illumination. He was perhaps the first person to see the possibilities of considerable or even large service from this troublesome and intrusive element. His judgment was correct, but his suggestion as to use was made twenty years too soon. The recent experience of western Pennsylvania was needed before enough persons

could be found in Findlay to follow the indications of gas supply with which all were acquainted.

In 1883 and 1884, the drilling was going on at many points in Ohio. A company was formed at Bucyrus, among other towns, and in the latter part of 1883 a well was drilled there. By this approach of the drillers, Dr. Oesterlin's interest was renewed in the Findlay supply. He corresponded with the Gillespie Tool Company, of Pittsburgh, Pa., who were sinking the Bucyrus well, and urged upon his neighbors the policy of organizing a natural gas company forthwith. In this work, he was presently re-enforced by Mr. Charles J. Eckels, an old resident of the town, who had made at about this time a visit to the natural gas regions of western Pennsylvania, and who was greatly impressed with what he learned as to the desirability and value of the new fuel.

Mr. Henry Porch, collector of the town, was next interested, and thus a number of citizens were brought together in March, 1884, to organize the Findlay Natural Gas Company. The incorporators, in addition to the three gentlemen already named, were Messrs. Blackford, Glessner, Zeller, Kunz, Coons, Stringfellow and Heck. The capital stock of the company was $5,000, and Dr. Oesterlin was elected president.

Correspondence in regard to drilling was at once begun, and a contract was presently entered into with Brownyar and Martin, of Bradford, Pa., to sink a well in Findlay. Drilling was begun about October 20th on the east side of Eagle Creek, and just beyond the corporation limits. The location was made because of the presence of a well-known gas spring in the immediate neighborhood. As the drill descended, gas was found in small quantity from 314 feet downwards, but larger veins were struck at 516, 618 and 640 feet. The supply from these sources was ample to furnish steam for drilling. At 718 feet, a small quantity of oil was found. This horizon is a notable one in all of the Findlay wells, but the character of the bed that furnishes it has not yet been worked out. But at 1,092 feet, early in the month of November, a large flow was obtained. The gas was lighted and the blaze shot up 20 or 30 feet above the stand-pipe. The light could be seen for 10 or 15 miles away, on all sides. Great excitement was naturally caused by the discovery, and people flocked into Findlay by the thousand to see the strange spectacle. No measurements were made of the flow of the well, but by comparison with the yield of later wells, as estimated by the drillers, its daily production was, probably, between 200,000 and 300,000 cubic feet. On this point we have nothing but estimates, however.

The flow of gas proved thus large and constant, but still the company proceeded to drill deeper in search of a more abundant supply. The drill finally rested at 1,648 feet. Salt-water was found in consider