Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical, Part 133

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1058

USA > Illinois > Crawford County > Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical > Part 133

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8, 1863, and did scouting service until the Chat- tanooga campaigu in which it took part. It was in the fights at Ringgold, Buzzard's Roost, Dallas and Marietta, afterwards doing its share in the capture of Selma, Ala., and finally being mus- tered out June 27, 1865. Two companies of the Ninety-eighth, D and E, were composed of Craw- ford County men. The commissioned officers were : William Wood, Captain; Jas. H. Watts, First Lieutenant and William G. Young, Second Lieutenant. On February 22, 1863, David L. Condrey became First Lieutenant, vice Watts, resigned, Second Lieutenant Young being pro- moted to the captaincy, December 5, 1864, on the resignation of Captain Wood. Archillas M. Brown was promoted to Second Lieutenant.

The following were the first officers of Com- pany E: John T. Cox, Captain ; Ira A. Flood, First Lieutenant, and Charles Wilson, Second Lieutenant. Lieut. Flood succeeded Capt. Cox April 13, 1863, and became Major of the regi- ment June 15, 1865. George B. Sweet became Second Lieutenant, then First Lieutenant and finally Captain. Johu Baes became Second Lieu- tenant, and then First Lieutenant. J. W. Jones was promoted to be Second Lieutenant, vice Lieut. Willard, who resigned March 20, 1863.

Company H of the One Hundred and Thirty- fifth Illinois, a 100-day reginuent, was mainly made up in Crawford County. Its Captain was James B. Wicklin, and Philip Brown and A. D. Dey were its First and Second Lieutenants.

Company H of the One Hundred and Fifty- second Illinois, a one-year regiment, was enlisted in Crawford County, with George W. Beam as Captain, Wm. Dyer, First Lieutenant, and Ferdi- nand Hughes, Second Lieutenant. This regiment was organized February 18, 1865, and mustered out September 11, 1865.

The One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Illinois en- listed for one year, was organized February 18. 1865, and mustered out September 4, 1865. It coutained a company mainly from Crawford County, the officers being : John W. Lowler, Cap- tain ; Ross Neeley, First Lieutenant, and Mar- shall C. Wood Second Lieutenant.

Company F. Fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, was mostly composed of Crawford County men with the following officers : Captain Horace P. Mumford ; First Lieutenant, Francis M. Dorothy : Second Lieutenant, Wm. Wagensueller, On May 24, 1863, Capt. Mumford became Major.

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Lieut. Wagenseller was promoted to First Lieu- tenant, January 10, 1863, vice Lieut. Dorothy, and became Captain May 24, 1863. Thomas J. Dean was promoted to First Lieutenant, May 24, 1863, and Captain, July 5, 1864. James H. Wood was made Second Lieutenant, May 24, 1863, First Lieutenant, July 5, 1864, and Captain, September 20, 1864. Edwin P. Martin became Second Lieu- tenant, and then Adjutant, and Jacob Stifal was made First Lieutenant. James G. Bennett was promoted to Second Lieutenant, October 26, 1865. Quartermaster Robert C. Wilson and Surgeon William Watts were residents of Craw- ford County. Maj. Mumford, a most meritorious officer, died October 26, 1864, and Capt. Dean, September 20th of the same year.

A considerable number of men from Crawford County enlisted in Indiana and Missouri regi- ments, those of the latter State especially having many residents of this county on their muster rolls.

But one war draft affected the county during the Civil War, and the following table of quotas, credits and deficits, by precincts, shows the status of each in this respect :

Precincts

Quotas

Credits Deficits

Hutsonville

176

166

Robinson

198

193

Watts

Licking

Martin

Franklin

144

111

Embarras

Northwest

Montgomery

Oblong

Palestine

148

134

Southwest

Totals

1149

1003

146

Before the date set for the draft, the deficits were reduced by additional enlistments, the number finally required to complete the quota be- ing as follows: Franklin 16; Watts 8; Licking 8; Hutsonville 1; Oblong 3; Northwest 4; and Montgomery 10; with a corresponding number of "reserves."

It will be seen from the foregoing war statis- tics, that the enlistments of Crawford County compare favorably with those of other counties of the State.

CHAPTER XV.

THE OIL INDUSTRY IN ILLINOIS.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND CONDITIONS IN CRAWFORD COUNTY-FIRST PROSPECTING FOR OIL IN CLARK COUNTY IN 1865-ROBERT AMES THE PIONEER PROSPECTOR IN CRAWFORD COUNTY-LATER AND MORE SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS- PHENOMENAL DE- VELOPMENT SINCE 1900-LIST OF OIL COMPANIES OPERATING IN CRAWFORD COUNTY AND HISTORY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS-CONSE- QUENT INCREASE OF POPULATION-SOME REMARK- ABLE ACCIDENTS AND MARVELOUS ESCAPES -- CRAWFORD COUNTY IN THE CENTER OF THE OIL FIELD-DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCT OF 1908- NUMBER OF WELLS IN THE ILLINOIS OIL DISTRICT IN JANUARY, 1909.

(By Judge William C. Jones.)

Crawford County was one of the earliest settled counties of Illinois. Lamotte Prairie, in the east- ern portion of the county, is one of the most beautiful and fertile tracts of land in the State, and shortly after the settlement of Knox County, Indiana, a sturdy class of people came to this county and settled around Palestine, and later on, around Hutsonville, gradually extending over the county until it became one of the best agri- cultural sections of Southeastern Illinois.

The pioneer inhabitants were a sober, thrifty, industrious people, inured to hardships and strong in the faith for the future prosperity of their adopted country. They knew nothing about its mineral resources, but depended entirely upon its timber and agricultural products for a liveli- hood. Later on its people became stock-raisers and fruit-growers, and this county was equal to any in this section of Illinois in that line of in- dustry.

Coal had been developed in small quantities in various portions of the county. It was ob- tained, however, only through surface mining, and used mostly for smithing purposes, and its production was entirely abandoned with the ad- vent of the railroads in the year 1875. The earth, however, is a great storage plant, and beneath its surface was hidden large treasures that were unknown to the early settlers of this country.

WOODWORTH HOTEL

WEST HALF SOUTH SIDE PUBLIC SQUARE, ROBINSON

TANKS ON FIRE IN THE ILLINOIS OIL FIELD

Photographed by Lieut. M. V. Bodmaresku, of the Roumanian Artillery

LAYING PIPE LINE

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CRAWFORD COUNTY

In 1865 a company was organized in Clark County, Ill., for the purpose of mining for oil and gas. Quincy A. Robinson was President, and Robert L. Dulaney, Secretary. The first well in this section of Illinois was drilled in that year on the farm of ex-Congressman Young, in the western portion of Clark County. The prospect- ors succeeded in finding oil and gas in that well, but nothing ever came of their venture from a practical standpoint, save kindling the spark which, in after years, produced the flame which has spread over Eastern Illinois. At that time Clark and Crawford Counties were largely leased for the purpose of producing oil and gas. Noth- ing came of these ventures save the excitement naturally attendant upon it among our citizens. One or two attempts were made to sink wells in this county, the most notable one now remem- bered being by Robert Ames, of Oblong Town- ship, on the McLain farm now owned by the Ohio Oil Company, the farm at this writing hav- ing sixteen fine oil wells upon it, and being used, also, by the Ohio Oil Company as a tank farm. Mr. Ames endeavored to put down his well by means of the old-fashioned spring pole, drilling it to a depth of 300 feet. Being termed a crank by his neighbors, meeting with disfavor on all sides and his money soon exhausted, he aban- doned the first effort to find oil in Crawford County in the very section that has since proven to be one of the most profitable oil pools in this State.

In 1884 William Creswell and Joseph Creswell, having purchased a drilling outfit for the purpose of drilling water wells, drilled on their own farm, about six and one-half miles southeast of Robin- son, and at a depth of 182 feet struck a flow of natural gas that had a rock pressure of 25 lbs. to the square inch. This well furnished gas for lighting and heating purposes in the Creswell home from that time until the present, and was visited by many parties who were induced to go and see it, and who pronounced it genuine rock gas. The farm of the Creswells at this writing (1908) has several fine oil wells upon it.

The finding of oil at Terre Haute, Ind .. and small gas wells in various portions of this county, induced a number of the enterprising citizens of Robinson, Ill., to organize a company known as the Crawford County Oil, Gas & Coal Company, incorporated with a capital stock of $5,000, for the purpose of prospecting for coal, oil and gas. This company organized by the election of a

board of directors who elected Abner P. Wood- worth, President, E. E. Lindsay, Secretary, and Caswell S. Jones, Treasurer. James Gilchrist was secured and a contract made to drill two wells for the home company. A location was made about one and one-half miles east of Robin- son, near the Illinois Central Railroad, in 1901. The well was drilled to a depth of 820 feet, a good coal vein was passed through, and salt water and gas encountered at that point, but nothing more was accomplished. The company then pur- chased a standard rig and, in the spring of 1902, a location having been made a mile and one-half north of Robinson, a well was drilled in ten days during the month of April of that year. Some nice coal veins were drilled through, and a small gas well was.drilled in at a depth of a little over 1.000 feet, and a small quantity of oil was also found. This well was ruined, and several other efforts were made to put down wells that resulted in failures.

Our neighboring town of Palestine also organ- ized a company and drilled in three wells, two showing oil and one a small gas well. This gas was piped and supplied forty stoves with fuel, and Palestine became the first town in our coun- ty to use gas for heating purposes. The initial well was drilled with a diamond drill, for tbe purpose of ascertaining coal measures, as well as other minerals. Coal was found at 500 to 600 feet, and the drill struck the oil-bearing rock at about 850 feet. A standard rig was then placed in close proximity to this well, and a new well drilled to the oil-bearing rock. The well was properly cased and nitro-glycerine was obtained to shoot the same. The casing was not removed, as it should have been, and the shot completely ruined both tbe casing and the well. This well probably would have made twenty or twenty-five barrels of oil per day. This fact is mentioned to show what troubles novices bad in drilling oil wells.

The citizens of Robinson and Palestine expend- ed about $23,000 in attempting to procure oll in this county, all their efforts resulting in failure. It requires trained men to develop a successful oil field, and some of our citizens recognizing this fact, wrote to the President of the Standard Oil Company, at 26 Broadway, New York, who kind- ly referred them to J. C. Donnell, in Findlay, Ohio, now Vice-President and General Manager of the Ohio Oil Company. Mr. Donnell imme- diately took up the matter and sent Arthur M.

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CRAWFORD COUNTY

Meeks to this field, who began taking leases on lands from our citizens for the Ohio Oil Com- pany. In the meantime news of the finding of oil and gas in this county had gone abroad, and Mr. Hoblitzell came out to Clark County and be- gan the successful drilling of wells in this field, which proved to be a good one, the oil sands being found at a very shallow depth. Operations were confined to the Clark County field during the season of 1904, but leasing went steadily on southward into Crawford County, and in the summer of 1905, the Benedum-Trees Oil Company made the first successful venture in drilling in a well on the Robert D. Athey farm in Prairie Township, this county, striking oil at a depth of 1,000 feet, completing this well on August 29th, and from this well gas was piped to the town of Annapolis, making it the second town in this county to burn natural gas.

John H. Galey, of Pittsburg, Pa., with whom some of our citizens had been in correspondence, was telegraphed, and he immediately came to Robinson. Mr. Galey, in addition to being a most accomplished gentleman, is, perhaps, the greatest field manager of his time. He spent one week with our citizens and made a careful survey of the county. He gave it as his opinion that we had an oil county, and correctly located the field. He procured a gas franchise while in the city of Robinson, and predicted that we would be burning gas by Christmas-a prediction which was afterwards verified. The visit of Mr. Galey to our community is one long to be remembered. He is a well-informed, genial and companionable gentleman, and was untiring in his efforts to locate this field. A location was made for a well on the Price farm, about four and one-half miles northwest of Robinson, in Robinson Township, which, on being drilled, proved to be a fine gas well, and the Wabash Gas Company. having been organized, immediately commenced laying its pipe lines to this city, and today Robinson has about twelve hundred meters installed by the Wabash Gas Company, one of the greatest and best enterprises of our community. E. C. Rose was appointed Superintendent of the company and removed to our city, and the present success of this company is largely due to his efforts,

In the meantime various companies came into this county and leasing progressed rapidly, and to W. W. Seybert, who leased a large portion of Oblong and Martin Townships. and the western portion of Robinson Township, much credit is

due for the success that afterwards attended the efforts of companies drilling in this portion of our county. Mr. Seybert divided up his lands, assigning portions of them to the Mahutska, Min- netonka, Crescent, Daisy, Riddle, Red Bank, and various other companies.

During the early part of the winter of 1906, DeWitte T. Finley made a location on the Shire, farm, about six miles southwest of Robinson, and successfully drilled in the Shire No. 1. It was drilled to a depth of about 1,000 feet, and re- mained an enigma for some two or three months, during this time leasing rapidly progressed in that section of the country. When this well was finally shot, it produced about 2,500 barrels of oil per day, and the fame of the Shire pool was at once established.

Treat, Crawford & Treat, under the manage- ment of their genial Superintendent, A. M. O'Don- nell, immediately leased from Dr. E. L. Birch, 80 acres adjoining the Shire tract on the east, and commenced the drilling of a well on this farm, which also proved to be one of the gusher variety, and it was but a short time until some two or three hundred rigs were up in this section. Oil was now an assured fact, and drilling had begun in earnest in this portion of the field.

Leasing now progressed rapidly in all sections of the county, and large bonuses were paid to land owners, especially in Oblong, Robinson. Martin and Prairie Townships, but operations in the producing line were very largely confined to the Shire District. The farms of Dr. Birch, Har- rison Martin, Charles Martin, Emanuel Miller, Metta Mann, Amanda Riker, Harriet King, E. Mitchell, James Good. Dr. Carlisle, and many other citizens were found to be especially rich in oil, and it was not infrequent to hear of wells being reported that produced from one hundred to one thousand barrels per day.

THE OHIO OIL COMPANY.

This company, being the western representa- tive of the Standard Oil Company, quickly grasped the situation, and its leasers were in all parts of the field. It was represented by men of untiring zeal and ability, such men as Frederick H. Hillman. J. R. Penn, Arthur M. Meeks, Frank P. Blair, and many others working under them, and leasing progressed with such commendable zeal that it was not long until a large territory had been secured by this company, and their leases now amount to 150,000 acres in the entire

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CRAWFORD COUNTY

oil field. Mr. Hillman, who was then State Su- perintendent, determined to establish an office at the county seat, and for this purpose secured some rooms in the Woodworth block that were soon destined to become the scene of great activ- ity. Stoy, a little station on the Illinois Central Railroad, about midway between Robinson and Oblong and two miles north of the Shire pool, now known as Oil Center, was selected as a base of operation, and a loading rack was established at that station. The offices at Robinson quickly filled, and Messrs. Lee Gordon, A. E. Dorsey, Arthur M. Meeks, W. W. McDonald, Walter Mc- Laughlin, William E. Stevens and Will Haley were placed in charge of their respective depart- ments, to assist Messrs. Hillman, Penn and Roach in the organization of this field. A pump station was installed at Stoy, and Mr. Hillman was promoted to General Superintendent of the pipe line department, with Messrs. Daniel Roach and Lee Gordon as his assistants. James K. Kerr was promoted to General Superintendent of the producing department. J. R. Penn was made Superintendent of the leasing department, with Arthur M. Meeks and Frank P. Blair as his assistants, and A. E. Dorsey was made Su- perintendent of this division, with W. W. McDon- ald, Frank Gariupy and Walter MeLaughlin as his assistants. A telegraph office was established and Will G. Stephens installed as operator, with Will Haley and Howard Adsit as clerks. A bet- ter, brighter and busier set of men would have been hard to find. The county was organized into districts. Pipe lines were surveyed and laid, and early in the season of 1906 the pump station established at Stoy was in perfect work- ing order, and forty to fifty thousands barrels of oil per day were transported through the pipe line department of the company. The Ohio Oil Company was very active in the line of produc- tion, and since their advent into the county have drilled in, on their own account. 791 producing wells and many thousand barrels of oil have been transported to the refineries of the Standard Oil Company. This company, representing the Stand- ard Oil Company, built large and commodious offices in the spring of 1907, in the city of Robin- son, and removed thereto. They have extended their operations through Clark, Crawford and Lawrence Counties, have constantly increased the pumping capacity, until, today, at their pumping station at Stoy they are capable of sending over 118,000 barrels daily to their refineries. The

amount of work accomplished by this company in the two years that they have been operating in this field. and the amount of money they have expended, is almost incredible. Their work has been of a permanent character, done quietly and accomplished in a manner entirely satisfactory to other operators and to the citizens of the county

INCREASE IN POPULATION.

Before mentioning the work of other oil .com- panies, mention must be made of the influx of people into our county. In the fall of 1905, Rob- inson had some 1,700 people. Palestine, Oblong and Hutsonville were villages, each of about 900 inhabitants. After the discovery of oil on the Athey farm, it became apparent that our popu- lation was gradually increasing. The spring of 1906 marked a new era. One supply store, witlı W. G. Long as manager, had already reached our town and installed gas in our homes entirely satisfactory to our citizens, and the National Supply Company, the Jarecki Manufacturing Company. the Oil Well Supply Company, Frick- Reid Supply Company, Bovaird & Seyfang, Bes- semer Gas Engine Company, Acme Fishing Tool Company and National Supply and Equipment Company were all applicants for rooms and were soon located in our midst with large stores of oil-well supplies. The demand for rooms and dwelling houses was incessant, and the question of supplying them was not a matter of easy solu- tion. Our hotels were limited, but our citizens opened their homes and soon two and three fami- lies were domiciled where one had previously lived. As the season grew warmer, tents were erected and houses were improvised. Every room in town was occupied and acres of tents could be seen around Robinson. Workmen were in great demand and wages had more than doubled, and the season of 1906 closed with a number of new buildings and Robinson possessed a population which exceeded four thousand, while Palestine. Oblong and other towns had grown in proportion.

Another one of the peculiarities of the situa- tion was the increasing freights of our railroads. It was no uncommon sight to see miles of cars loaded with oil-well and other supplies shipped in from other fields, and the Railroad Superin- tendents were put to their wits in building side- tracks and caring for and handling these ex- cessive freights. The two depots had become veritable hustling shops and their forces were

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CRAWFORD COUNTY

increased from time to time to meet the demand. Switchyard engines were running night and day, and the local freights at Robinson exceeded that of any other point on the New York Central and Illinois Central Railroads. It was no un- common sight to see three hundred teams start out in the morning with oil-well supplies and material for the leases in the field, and this was constantly kept up during the season of 1906. Another fact worthy of mentioning is, that a number of tents and houses were improvised on the leases, and frequently a small settlement would be built during the day.

The postoffice at Robinson had also increased in mail matter until it was necessary to pro- vide new quarters, and the forces of the office were increased very materially. Robinson was made a second class postoffice and the amount of mail that was handled by our postmaster and his assistants was larger than would be handled by a city of about four times the size of Robinson. Every facility was granted by the Government. and today we are enjoying the bene- fit of a free mail delivery in our city.

The telephone service increased very rapidly, and the two telephone companies were compelled to increase their capacity until, today, we have in Robinson on the Crawford County Mutual Telephone lines, 1052 'phones, and on the South- eastern Long Distance Telephone and Telegraph lines. 250 'phones. These two lines connect with other lines, making a service extending into all parts of the county.

BENEDUM-TREES OIL COMPANY.

This company was one of the first in the field, and secured, perhaps, greater holding than any other individual company. Its leasers. Harry F. Miller. Harry S. Grayson and T. S. Riley, were very active and secured for the corporation some very fine property, which was developed under the management of John Kirkland, a whole- souled, excellent gentleman, who was trained by the Standard Oil Company in the east. M. Bene- dum, J. C. Trees, John Kirkland and other stock- holders of this corporation had the satisfaction of receiving two million dollars from T. N. Barns- dall, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for their hold- ings, which included a half interest in the Wa- bash Gas Company. Up to this time they had drilled about ninety oil wells upon their prop- erty. It might be noted, also, that these gentle- men are still operating in this field under the

name of Superior Oil Company, possessing some of the very finest of leases, secured largely through the efforts of Harry S. Grayson, now a stockholder of said company, and one of the best men who left Washington County, Pa., for the western oil fields.

THE TORPEDO COMPANIES.

Without torpedo companies, this field would not show the good results that it has shown, and they are an indispensable auxiliary. We have two torpedo companies. The Independent Tor- pedo, whose President, E. Wannamaker, resides at Findley, Ohio. and who, by the way, is quite a producer, having drilled in on the Sargent Newlin farm in the northeastern part of the field in Hutsonville Township, a well that started off with about 400 barrels per day. His company, the Independent, has for its State Superintend- ent, Harry Lippert. with headquarters at Robin- son. This company has with them the follow- ing named people as shooters: S. L. Theetge, W. Beck, Vern Osenbaugh, F. E. Davidson, Ben Dow and F. A. Stinson. Their nitro-glycerine factory is on the Walters farm, about two and one-half miles east of Robinson, and their maga- zine is located on the Dr. Firebaugh farm, four miles west of Robinson. Their mixer, or maker, is George Dana, who is one of the oldest shoot- ers in the United States.

The DuPont Powder Company have their fac- tory on Dr. L. E. Stephens' farm about four miles west of Robinson, and their magazine is on the land of Jerome Garrard, about two miles west of Robinson. The State Superintendent of this company is Alex. W. Swanson and the field manager of this county is D. W. Stevenson. The other gentlemen with the DuPont Powder Com- pany are: Fred Mack, Charles Townsend, W. Covert, W. K. Snyder, W. E. Donaldson, William Ramsey and Van Gray. No men in the field have more hazardous tasks to perform than the Tor- pedo men. They are a brave and fearless set. The business is alluring and. when once entered upon, they seldom quit it, and the wages paid are good.

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Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical, Part 133

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1058

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1058