but as oil was the object of search at that time, no especial interest was attached to the gas production. It is not to be doubted that Ross, Pike and Scioto counties will supply from this source a large amount of light and fuel, in time to come, if proper conditions for the search are found and observed. The entire shale formation is, however, reduced in these same counties to its lowest terms for the state of Ohio, and less is to be expected of it here on this account. The great service of the shales in the way of petroliferous production, whether of oil or gas, is, after all, not in outcrop, but under cover, and where the appropriate reservoirs are present to do the all-important work of storage and accumulation.

CHAPTER VI.

THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MACKSBURG OIL FIELD.

BY F. W. MINSHALL.

DISCOVERY OF PETROLEUM IN OHIO, 1860 ΤΟ 1864.

Although the quantity of petroleum thus far obtained from the sandstones of Carboniferous and Subcarboniferous age in southeastern Ohio is insignificant when compared with the yield from the deeper sandstones of Pennsylvania, a history of this branch of mining industry, it is hoped, may be interesting to the general reader, and may, also, reveal some points that will be valuable in the future development of the resources of the state. Over forty years ago, long before the idea of drilling for petroleum had occurred to Col. Drake, or to any one else, the oil was collected from the sand-pits of Hughes River, in West Virginia, and sold as "Seneca Oil" to Messrs. Bosworth & Wells, in Marietta, Ohio. It was purchased for 25 cents per gallon, and the first shipment of five barrels was made by them in 1843, from Marietta to New York, by way of New Orleans. The oil was sold on arrival in New York to a drug house, at 90 cents per gallon. Messrs. B. & W. continued dealing in the oil for about ten years, purchasing from one to two hundred barrels per year, from the Hughes River producers, and selling it to dealers all over the country. Large quantities of it were purchased by the makers of the once-celebrated "Mexican Mustang," and "Nerve and Bone" liniments. The oil was obtained from the lands of Mr. Bushrod Washington Creel, and was a source of considerable revenue to that gentleman, as well as to those who gathered it. Messrs. Bosworth & Wells may, therefore, justly claim to be the pioneer oil-dealers of Ohio. Considerable quantities of the "Seneca" oil were also collected from wells drilled at an early day for brine at different points in West Virginia and Ohio. The first petroleum obtained from the Duck Creek Valley, in Noble county, Ohio, came from wells of this kind.

The process of drilling wells for the express purpose of obtaining petroleum in Ohio, followed closely after the first successful experiment made in the valley of Oil Creek, Pennsylvania. After it had been demonstrated that large accumulations of this valuable liquid could be found in the underlying rocks, by drilling into them at points where the gas was seen bubbling through the water or the greenish fluid was seen floating upon its surface, wells were started where such surface indications could be found.

THE COW RUN OIL FIELD.

In the winter of 1860, Mr. John Newton, of Marietta, Ohio, was one day sitting in his office at the "Harmar Bucket Factory," when his attention was called to a newspaper article on the subject of drilling wells for petroleum in Canada. In the article, natural gas-springs were mentioned as an indication of underlying deposits of oil. Mr. Newton read the article aloud. Among the listeners was Mr. Uriah S. Dye, one of the workmen at the factory. After the reading was finished, Mr. Dye informed Mr. Newton that he had one of those gas-springs on his farm, at Cow Run, in Lawrence township-that the spring had been a subject of curiosity for many years to the owners of the land, and that a crude attempt had been made to use the gas as fuel by a Mr. Guyton, who had a cooper shop near the spring. Mr. Newton was finally persuaded to go out with Mr. Dye and look at the spring. As a result of the investigation, a company was formed, composed of Jno. Newton, Douglass E. Newton, William Naylor, Moffatt Dye and George S. Bosworth. On the 2d of February, 1861, leases were taken by the company from Uriah S. Dye, covering the W. of N. W. qr. of section 19, and W. of S. E. qr. of N. W. qr. of same section, in all 100 acres; also, from Samuel Dye, the N. E. qr. of N. W. qr. of section 19, 40 acres. Drilling was commenced at once, the first well being located close to the gas-spring. The machinery then in vogue for drilling was the "spring-pole" and "treadle;" the motive power, human muscle. In that day it was essential that the driller be sound in both wind and limb. The first Newton well was, however, soon "kicked" down to what was then supposed to be a sufficient depth, and "came in dry," barely showing enough oil to grease the tools. Instead of being discouraged, Mr. Newton seized a shovel and said, "Come, boys, I'll show you where to get an oil-well." He went over to the Samuel Dye 40 acres, chose a spot on the main run where the gas could be seen bubbling up through a pool, and by night had a pit dug down to the gravel. In the morning the water in this pit was covered with oil. The "kicking process" was speedily resumed, and at a depth of 137 feet their labors were rewarded by striking a "gusher." The well did not flow; it was pumped with the spring pole, and each day's product put into barrels-the pumping and filling of fifty barrels was about an average day's work for two men. The oil was taken by wagon nine miles to Marietta, and sold chiefly to Mr. William Finlay, buyer for a refinery located at St. Louis, Mo.

The Newton Company drilled seven shallow wells upon the Dye farms, all of which, except the first one, produced more or less oil.

DISCOVERY OF PETROLEUM AT MACKSBURG.

Previous to the drilling of the last-named wells, however, in the fall of the same year, 1860, Mr. James Dutton, in company with Alden T. Warren and John Smithson, decided to drill a well on the bank of Duck Creek, near the northwest corner of Mr. Dutton's farm, in Aurelius township, about one-half mile below the town of Macksburg. They had often noted the oil spreading over the surface of the creek at that point, and, as Mr. Dutton says, the boys used to get the oil on their backs when they went in swimming. The location selected was on the adjoining farm of Mr. William Rayley. On the 18th of August, 1860, a lease was given to James Dutton for a strip of land two rods wide, fronting on Duck Creek. The term was for 99 years, the consideration one hundred dollars, to be paid at the expiration of ten years; search was to be made for rock oil, and if no oil should be found, land was to revert to the owner, and no money to be paid. Mr. Dutton made arrangements at once to have the drilling-tools made, and as soon as they were ready work was commenced. The method of drilling adopted was even more laborious than the "spring-pole," the tools being raised by a hand-lever. At a depth of about 59 feet a valuable vein of oil was struck. The gravity was 28° B., and Mr. D. found difficulty at first in disposing of it, on account of its heavy gravity. Its value as a lubricating oil was, however, soon discovered, and the oil eventually brought as much as $28.00 per barrel. This well was also pumped by hand; the oil filled into barrels and taken by wagon ten miles to Lowell, on the Muskingum River, from which point it was shipped by boat to Pittsburgh.

The successful issue of the Dutton well at Macksburg, and of the Newton well, at Cow Run, soon caused derricks to spring up rapidly in their immediate vicinities. The most important of these at Cow Run, was one known as the "Elm Tree" well, which was drilled on a farm which adjoined the S. Dye tract, by Lemuel Wheeler and others. It followed closely after the first Newton well, and produced at the rate of 100 barrels per day. Among those who were drawn to Cow Run by the fame of the "Newton" and "Elm Tree" wells, was Col. John H. Weare, a pioneer operator in the Burning Springs district of West Virginia. In the year 1860, he had drilled a shallow well in that field, which, at the beginning of the war, was producing handsomely, when a raid was made upon the field by the rebel General Jones, and the property burned. Colonel Weare then went to Cow Run, where he was known for several years as one of the most active and enterprising operators in the field. Messrs. McFarland Brothers, of Pennsylvania, were also among the earliest operators in both the Cow Run and Macksburg fields.

EXTENSIONS OF THE OIL FIELDS.

The search for petroleum was not confined to the waters of Duck Creek and Cow Run, but was prosecuted along the beds of other streams. The manner in which this search was carried on affords a curious example of the tendency to act upon simple inferences drawn from imperfect premises. It was first inferred that the productive oil territory would be confined to the bottom lands along the water-courses, because the surface indications were found upon the surface of the streams. Hence, many of the leases taken for oil purposes only covered such parts of the farms as lay along the streams. This was designated as "the boring territory," and all other parts of the farm were considered valueless for oil purposes. Again, because the oil in the Dutton well was 59 feet below the bed of Duck Creek, and in the Newton well 137 feet below the bed of Cow Run, it was supposed the oil would be found at like distances below the beds of all other streams in the surrounding country. Two hundred feet was, therefore, usually adopted as the regular depth for a test well, and as this distance could be drilled by human muscle, with the aid of the spring-pole and treadle, nearly all of the drilling that was done prior to 1864 was done in that way.

GEOLOGICAL HORIZONS OF THE OIL PRODUCTION.

The oil in the Newton wells came from a sand-rock which belongs in the Lower Barren Coal Measures, between the Ames and Cambridge limestones. At Cow Run, on the Dye farm, the top of it lies 137 feet below the bed of the run, and at Macksburg, on the Dutton farm, about 125 feet below the bed of Duck Creek. The heavy oil in the Dutton well at 59 feet was probably a surface accumulation that had escaped from this sand-rock and gained specific gravity from contact with surface-water. The rock is a white quartz sand from 25 to 50 feet thick, some layers of which are filled with large quartz pebbles. Its nearness to the surface enabled the gas and oil to escape through small fissures, and these "shows" caught the attention of the oil-seeker, not only upon