Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical, Part 134

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 134

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It may be interesting here to state the man- ner of shooting a well. It requires about twenty quarts of nitro-glycerine to four and one-half feet of the rock. The shooter drives his wagon to the magazine, where the nitro-glycerine has been placed in cans holding ten quarts each ; he carefully removes the requisite number of quarts

HARRY MARTIN WELL No. 1, AFTER BEING SHOT

FLOWING OIL, AFTER BEING SHOT-P. C. BARRICK No. 14, ROBINSON TOWNSHIP

SHOOTING WELL No. 14, ROBINSON TOWNSHIP

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to the wagon, where each ten-quart can is placed in upholstered, padded cells. The cover is then placed over the top of the wagon, and the empty torpedo shells, having been placed in a rack on the outside of the wagon, the shooter is ready for the start. When he arrives at the well to be shot, he first unhitches his horses and takes them away from the wagon to a safe place, then removes from his wagon these ten-quart cans and carefully loads his torpedo shells, each one holding twenty quarts of the explosive. When the necessary number of shells are filled, they are carefully lowered to the required depth and placed one on the other until the required num- ber are let down. An electric squib, to which is attached a duplex insulated wire, is let down. The casing is then removed, joint by joint from the well, and set up in the derrick, and then a blasting battery is attached to the insulated wire and the shot is fired. It costs $105 to shoot a well with one hundred quarts of nitro-glycerine.

SOME REMARKABLE ACCIDENTS AND ESCAPES.

In this field very few accidents have occurred. None have caused the death of a human being, but it will be interesting to note a few of the miraculous escapes.

F. A. Stinson, of the Independent Torpedo Company, was called to shoot a well in the south- ern portion of our county. He loaded his wagon and started over a rongh and muddy road. His wagon turned over and his load of nitro-glycer- ine was thrown into a mud hole. He extricated himself, righted his wagon, fished his cans of nitro-glycerine from the mud hole, placed theru in the wagon and went on and made his shot and returned in safety.

Van Gray, of the same company, was called to make a shot on the Simons farm, about four miles northeast of Oblong. This well belonged to the Minnetonka Oil Company, and was doing about three hundred barrels per day natural, and had a great gas pressure. Gray was at- tempting to let down a filled torpedo shell, but the gas was so strong it blew the shell from the well and hit the pulley, causing it to explode. Gray fell to the ground before the shot exploded and was uninjured. One of the horses belonging to his team was killed, a house in close proximity was shattered, a dresser in the room was torn all to pieces, while a mirror on the dresser was thrown on the floor unshattered. A bed on which a child was sleeping was thrown over onto the

floor and the child escaped uninjured. The mother in the room escaped uninjured, although her clothing was torn in fragments. The shin- gles on the roof of the smoke-house were cut away as with a knife. The stable, two derricks and several oil tanks were all destroyed by fire. An iron knife in a coat pocket of Mr. Gray on the ground near by, was bent in every conceiv- able shape ; is quite a curious memento of this explosion, and is now in the possession of D. E. Lamb of the Big Creek Water Company.

S. L. Theetge, of the same company, was called to shoot a well in the early part of 1908. Going to the magazine and securing the nitro-glycerine, he started. The roads were rough and the front wheel dropped into a hole and the front axle broke, pitching Mr. Theetge under the heels of his horses and breaking two of his ribs. The axle of his wagon struck the ground with con- siderable force, but no explosion followed, and Mr. Theetge took his team from the wagon, went to a neighboring house and telephoned to Robin- son for a new wagon and another shooter. With this shooter, and, in his crippled condition, Mr. Theetge went on and finished the shot and came back to town.

Another explosion occurred on the McKnight lease in the summer of 1907. A shot was thrown out of the well by the gas pressure, which caused the burning of the derrick and the annihilation of the team and wagon belonging to the DuPont Powder Company. The shooter, Ward Lester, threw himself on the ground and escaped in- jury, although the explosion caused a terrific shock.

D. W. Stevenson, of the DuPont Powder Com- pany, in the fall of 1906, performed a deed for pluck and bravery that is rarely equaled. He was called to shoot a well about four iniles west of town, on a farm directly south of the Illinois Central Railroad. It was No. 3 on the Ohio Oil Company lease. It was a good oil well, with a high gas pressure. On lowering his torpedo she!l he felt the line give way, and his clear head discerned the result, as the shell with its twenty quarts of nitro-glycerine was forced out by the heavy gas pressure. Mr. Stevenson coolly locked his arms around the torpedo and prevented it from being thrown on the ground, thus averting the destruction of many persons who were stand- ing around to witness the shot.

In the spring of 1908, however, one of the nar- rowest escapes was made by W. K. Snyder and

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W. H. Ramsey, of the DuPont Powder Company. They had one hundred quarts of glycerine in their wagon, to which was attached four horses, and in crossing Big Creek bridge in Oblong Town- ship, the bridge gave way. Wagon, men and horses were precipitated in the creek into about twelve feet of water. The men swam ashore, but the horses were struggling in the debris. Snyder remarked to his companion, "if these horses must die I will die with them." He went back into the water, cut the harness and freed the teams. Having rescued the horses they re- ' mained by the stream until the water went down, when they went to the wagon and carried the glycerine to shore and telephoned for another shooter to come from Robinson. They took the wagon out next day in a badly damaged condi- tion, the front end having been kicked out by the horses.

It will be seen that the business of shooting wells is one that requires nerve, but these men have it. They are a fine set of fellows who realize their responsibility and govern themselves accordingly.

EARLY OIL COMPANIES IN THIS FIELD.

Among the early oil companies in this field that have been very successful, are the Mahut- ska, under the management of D. A. Finley ; Treat, Crawford & Treat, under the management of A. M. O'Donnell ; the Minnetonka, under the management of J. E. Schell ; the Crescent, under the management of Daniel McQuiggan; the Daisy, under the management of Frank Fertig; and the Riddle Oil Company, under the manage- ment of A. W. Nickle. These corporations began operations in the spring of 1906.

MAHUTSKA OIL COMPANY.

As has already been mentioned, D. T. Finley drilled in the initial well, known as Shire No. 1, and from that time on the success of the Ma- hutska Oil Company was assured. Mr. Finley is a hard worker, a gentleman well liked by every one, and his efforts were crowned with the greatest success. The Mahutska has its of- fices in Robinson, where Mr. Finley has built a splendid home and lives in ease and comfort. This company has now 1,700 acres of leases with one hundred wells to its credit, all fine pro- ducers, many of which started off at 1,000 bar- rels per day.

TREAT, CRAWFORD & TREAT.

A. M. O'Donnell, Superintendent for this com- pany, has been constantly on the go and ever on the alert for the interests of his company. They have 9,000 acres of leases in the field, and the splendid producing oil wells speak volumes for the activity of this company. Their production is very large in this field, and they have recently put in a Gas Plant at Oblong, Ill., and now sup- ply that town from the John Walters farm in the northwest corner of Robinson Township. They have drilled in this field 210 wells. C. C. Harter is leaser for this company, and has been untiring in his efforts.

MINNETONKA OIL COMPANY.

The Minnetonka Oil Company had about 8,000 acres of leases in this field and drilled in 192 wells. Their production was so fine that they sold the same to the Ohio Oil Company on March 26, 1908, for $1,250,000. Mr. Schell and his as- sistants are to be congratulated on the splendid success of their two years' work. Perry O. Laugh- ner is President of this company, and is also an organizer of the Crescent Oil Company, the com- pany having its offices in Robinson and doing a very successful business. The Superintendent is Daniel McQuiggan, with Chal Laughner as its field manager. One of its initial wells was drilled on the Harry Martin farm in 1906, and produced in the first twenty-four hours, 1,600 barrels of oil. This lease was especially rich, and Mr. Martin, the owner of the farm, refused $79,000 for his seventy-nine acres of land. The Crescent had, on the first day of January, 1908, 52 wells to its credit, with a daily production of one thousand barrels.

THE RIDDLE OIL COMPANY.

The Riddle Oil Company was organized by the election of J. E. Hughes, President, T. L. Riddle. Vice-President, C. L. Nickle, Secretary, A. W. Nickle, Treasurer and General Manager, and Gaily Myers, Superintendent. Mr. Riddle, for whom the company is named, is a veteran of the oil fields, and he and his associates have been very successful in oil operations. Their lease in Honey Creek Township, on the A. W. Mann farm, started off a gusher, producing 1,600 bar- rels in the first twenty-four hours, and the suc- ceeding wells are almost as rich. This company now has 1,274 acres of leases, with 39 wells to

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Its credit. A. W. Nickle, the Treasurer and Man- ager of the Company, is a resident of Robinson and the owner of one of the largest, as well as one of the most beautiful, residences of this city. The Riddle Company developed the Henry Mus- grave farm about three miles northwest of Rob- inson, selling a lease of 286 acres, containing eleven wells, to W. J. Neuenschwander, of Sis- tersville, W. Va., for a consideration of $160,000.

THE DAISY OIL COMPANY.

The Daisy Oil Company was organized in March, 1906, largely through the efforts of Frank Fertig, who became its Superintendent and Man- ager. Mr. Fertig first came here as a leaser for C. B. Shaffer of the Consolidated Oil Company. He resigned his position and leased the farms of Capt. William Wood, John York and Samuel Dennis, containing 600 acres in all. The initial well drilled in on the Capt. Wood farm was a dry hole; the initial well on the York farm, across the road, was a 50-barrel producer. An amusing little incident is told regarding a trans- action between Mr. Wood and Mr. York. Being neighbors aud owning about the same quantity of land, they entered into a written agreement to pool their earnings. When Wood's well came in a dry hole, York offered him $1,000 to re- lease him from the contract, which the captain promptly accepted. Mr. York paid the money and the captain gave him the release. The next well on the captain's land, 400 feet from the dry hole, proved to be a gusher aud made 1,000 barrels per day for a short time, aud the farm proved to be oue of the best in the field. A well, however, was afterwards drilled on Mr. York's farm that made a thousand barrels. The settled production of these leases were 2,000 barrels per day. and forty wells were drilled on these farms prior to February 22, 1908, when the leases were sold to John G. Jennings, of Pittsburg, for a consideration of $440,000 cash. The property had been on velvet for six months, besides hav- ing paid dividends to its stockholders. The of- fice of the Daisy Oil Company is in Robinson, where Mr. Fertig also resides, having built him- self a fine residence, determining to take the world easy and develop other holdings which he possesses.

THE AUSTIN OIL COMPANY.

David E. Fritz was one of the first oil men in this field in the Spring of 1906. He was very

successful in procuring leases, perhaps no man being more energetic along that line. He was one of the promoters of the Daisy Oil Company, and at the sale of lands belonging to that com- pany, mentioned above, he received oue-eighth of the amount of that sale. Mr. Fritz organized the Austin Oil Company iu the Fall of 1906, and has since been its Superintendent, with head- quarters at Robinson. This company at the time of its organization owued leases amouut- iug to 175 acres, upou which some very rich finds have been made, No. 3 on the L. E. Stephens' farm being, perhaps, the best, doing about three hundred barrels per day.

Mr. Fritz has been very successful in other enterprises aside from his connection with the Daisy and Austin Oil Companies, among which we desire to mention the Chas. Heury lease in Oblong Township. This lease had two dry holes drilled upon it and was virtually abandoned, when Mr. Fritz purchased the same for a con- sideration of $500. His initial well demoustrated the wisdom of this purchase, for it started off with a production of 500 barrels per day, this well being drilled between the two dry holes. His second venture upon this lease started off with a production of 600 barrels per day. He has since become a resident of our city, and has built a beautiful home therein, and the activity and enterprise of him and his associates has also been the meaus of building Robinsou a fine opera house. He has also been instrumental iu bringing other producers to this field, who have profited largely by his suggestious. Mr. Fritz has secured quite a uumber of leases about Flat Rock and vicinity aud is interested iu their de- velopment. The property is uow producing oil in great abundance. He also leased about a thousand acres in the Martin Towuship pool, which he afterwards sold to M. F. Whitehill, of Pennsylvania, which has siuce become a very fiue producing property.

The seasou of 1907 was an extremely wet one, and the roads were well uigh impassable before the winter set in. Frequently you would see ten horses hitched to a boiler, dragging it along through the mud to its location. Some 847 wells had been drilled in this county during the year 1906. but it remained for the year 1907 to eclipse the formuer year. Active work began early in the spring and the rains that were almost coutinuous did not seeui to deter opera- tions. Much material had already been placed

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on the leases, and by the first of May work was other counties. The office of the Red Bank Oil Company was removed from Marshall, Clark active in all parts of the county. New pools had been developed and some larger wells than County, Ill., to Robinson, in April, 1907. W. E. . those previously reported, had been brought in by their owners.

Mention must be made, also, of the activity in building in the towns of our county. Many of our new-comers had determined to make their homes with us. The town of Oblong had more than doubled its population, and this year be- came a place of 2,500 inhabitants, with a sub- stantial new hotel, two national banks and many good business houses and wellings. Robinson had increased its population to six thousand, had erected the Woodworth Hotel, a $50,000 struc- ture, and built an opera house and several sub- stantial brick business structures, while the producers vied with each other in erecting beau- tiful modern dwellings. The New York Central erected a new, and commodious depot, and both railroads put on additional trains. The pas- senger traffic at this point was greater than at any other station along the lines of its two roads, and business was very active in all de- partments. This city had become the greatest depot for oil well supplies of any city west of Pittsburg. Machine Shops had been built capable of supplying almost any kind of machinery used in the oil fields. We have with us the Warren Machine Shops, Locke Brothers, Norris Brothers, Oil Well Supply Shops, Parkersburg Rig & Reel Company, Chandler's Tank Factory and many other factories and shops, and we could supply a sucker-rod or build an engine in our own town. We had increased in tank factories and lumber yards and could supply the increasing demand for both. The Robinson Oil Refinery had been built and put into operation, and a bottle factory erected by the Wilcox Brothers, who were not only splendid business men in that line, but are also successful operators in the oil field.

RED BANK OIL COMPANY.

T. N. Barnsdall, of Pittsburg. Pa., had been a large producer in this field prior to the ad- vent of the Red Bank Oil Company here. He had, with Mr. Erdman, developed the Hook property, a rich lease of 92 acres. a half-interest in which he has since sold for $70,000. After purchasing the Benedum-Trees leases, this com- pany, the stock of which was largely owned by its President, T. N. Barnsdall, was the strongest independent company in the field and had to its credit about 55,000 acres of leases in this and

Goodrich was State Superintendent and George W. Yerian Superintendent of Production, with Messrs. George L. Martin, Andrew J. Foust, John T. Scott and James Briody as his assistants, and E. O. Bartlett, Assistant Treasurer, with Robert R. Forker, clerk. These gentlemen were all old and experienced oil men, who had, like most oil men, received their training in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, as well as in other States, and under the excellent management of W. E. Good- rich. by the 1st of January, 1908, the Red Bank had to its credit, including the ninety wells pur- chased of Benedum-Trees Oil Company, about 500 wells. Too much credit cannot be given to Mr. Goodrich and his assistants for the able manner in which they managed this property. In the spring of 1908 Mr. Barnsdall sold about 600 acres of leases in Robinson Township, and about 1,180 acres in Oblong and Martin Town- ships for about $900,000, to the Ohio Oil Com- pany, on which are some of the finest producing wells in this field. The Red Bank Oil Company also sold to the American Oil Development Com- pany about 500 acres of leases for the sum of $370,000. They also sold to J. F. Hanna, of Franklin, Pa., the C. H. Morris lease, containing eleven producing wells and one gas well, for a consideration of $50,000.

THE MORRISON OIL COMPANY.

The Morrison Oil Company came here in March, 1907. Its President is Henry D. Morri- son, of New York City. It purchased 1,200 acres of leases from the Riddle Oil Company for a consideration of $250,000, and has since added to this property many valuable leases, some of its most valuable wells being on the John Carl- ton farm in Martin Township, many of the wells showing an initial production of 5,000 bar- rels. This company has 62 producing wells to its credit, and a fine daily production. Elmer D. Smith, a quiet, sober, thinking man, is the Superintendent, doing excellent service, assisted by Robert Lepper and William A. Forster. They have a beautiful suite of rooms in the Wood- worth Block on the west side of the Public Square in our city.

THE LINDEN OIL COMPANY.

This company maintains offices in Robinson, and has for its Superintendent, Robert Duffield.

PUMPING STATION IN THE ILLINOIS FIELD

A PUMPER IN HIS FIELD OF LABOR

TANK FARM OF THE OHIO OIL CO.

MARTIN No. 1 POOL, AFTER BEING SHOT

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Mr. Duffield and his brother James have been quite active in this field and have some val- uable lesaes and fine productions. The Duffield brothers have built fine residences in Robinson, and are now permanently located here.

BIG CREEK WATER COMPANY.

Without water in the field it would be hard to complete the immense amount of drilling that has been performed in the Shire and other pools in Crawford County. T. G. Lamb & Sons, of Indianapolis, Ind., were quick to discern this fact, and established the Big Creek Water Com- pany. This firm is composed of T. G. Lamb, D. E. Lamb, H. T. Lamb and Thomas Alford. The company first established their water line to Big Creek, but soon extended their lines to the Embarras River, where they placed a pump sta- tion capable of supplying about 600 barrels per hour. In addition to supplying water in this field, Mr. Lamb and his sons were both con- tractors and producers. They drilled No. 2 on the Dr. E. L. Birch farm for Treat, Crawford & Treat, which started off with an initial produc- tion of over 2,000 barrels per day. Mr. T. G. Lamb is also President of the Warren Machine Company, which was brought from Indiana in 1907.

SMITH, KERR & NEELY.

This firm has been operating in this county for the past year on farms owned by the heirs of Green B. Hicks, Dr. Newlin, D. C. Brubaker, Everett Manheart and others. Some idea of the richness of these leases may be formed from the statement of the production of two of the above farms for a single year. The D. C. Bru- baker farm was in litigation and A. P. Wood- worth was appointed receiver. The receiver's re- port shows that $44,000 worth of oil was pro- duced and sold during the year. This farm com- prises 36 acres.

Dr. Leroy Newlin's farm contains 70 acres, upon which 11 wells have been drilled. The lowest estimate of the largest producing well on this farm is 8,000 barrels per day, and the highest is 20,000 barrels for 24 hours. This is the best well drilled so far in this county. Dr Newlin receives an eighth royalty from this farm and it netted him last year about $20,000. These farms are in Martin Township.

W. S. Wark commenced operations in this county in August, 1906. Among other leases

which he had the good fortune to obtain was the farm of J. W. Dennis, containing 160 acres, ad- joining that of Dr. Newlin. This farm is one of the best producing farms in the field. Several wells have been drilled upon it, and the royalty from them has given Mr. Dennis about $40,000 for his share.

J. D. Downing and E. W. McArthur have been operating the Wasson and other leases during the past year, and their initial well on this lease started off at 1,000 barrels per day.

Another rich find about five miles north, in Robinson Township, is on the Grant York farm. This pool was discovered by J. H. West, who associated himself with Mr. Downing, under the firm name of Downing & West. Their wells have been of the gusher variety, and most of them started off with an initial production of 1,000 barrels per day. The Tom Moore Oil Company also have a lease on this farm, and paid $150 per acre bonus, and the one-sixth royalty for same. After one year they are on velvet and paying good dividends to the stock- holders.

George Bole leased the farm adjoining York, of Ed. and S. T. Lindsay. Mr. Bole paid a third royalty for this lease and his venture has proven highly profitable. Both York and the Lindsays are receiving several thousand dollars per month from the royalty on the oil found in this pool.

To the west of the York and Lindsay farms, at the corner of Robinson and Licking Town- ships, another rich pool was brought in by the Annin Oil Company, under the management of J. J. Cauley, on the Robert Athey farm. This farm consisted of 120 acres of land and was purchased by Dr. E. C. Price in the early stages of the oil field for $35 per acre. He leased for a bonus of $75 per acre and one-sixtli of the oil. There are seven wells drilled in, and he Is re- ceiving from $1,200 to $2,000 per month royalty. This is given as one instance of many trans- actions that have occurred in all parts of the county since the discovery of oil.

Duff & McClintock leased the P. C. Barrick farm of 1,000 acres in Robinson Township. The farm has now fourteen wells drilled on it. Mr. Barrick has been offered $100,000 for his royalty interest, which he refused. and is now receiv- ing several thousand dollars each month as royalty, it being one of the richest finds in the field.

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The depth of wells drilled in this field varies from 850 to 1,350 feet, but the usual depth is from 980 to 1,000 feet. Gas is found in the top sands. The best gas wells that have been found in the county are in Robinson and Honey Creek Townships, and their capacity is from one to ten million cubic feet per day, and there are a number of them. In drilling wells about 60 to 180 feet of 10-inch casing is used, and about 400 feet of 81/4-inch and about 700 feet of 614-inch. It requires about ten to fifteen days to complete a well and costs from $2,500 to $3,000. The greater majority of the wells have been of the gusher, or flowing type. The "Go-Devil," or iron rod, is not used in this field in shooting wells, as the wells are required to be cased close to the sand, which necessitates the pulling of the 614-inch casing in order to make the shot, although in some parts of the field the walls of the wells stand up sufficiently so that it is not necessary to case with the 614 inch until after the well is shot. After the well begins to flow, tanks are erected, power houses are built, the wells are connected together by shackle- rods, lines are laid to carry away the oil to the Pump Station, and the producer is ready to have his oil gauged and sell the same. The specific gravity of the oil in this field is from 36 to 37, although in the Flat Rock pool the oil is of a lower grade, and in some instances is but 28 gravity. The oils here contain a high per- centage of gasoline and naphtha, and are almost equal to oils found in the eastern fields. Sixty cents per barrel has been paid for the lower grade oils and sixty-eight cents for the higher grades. Taking everything into consideration and the immense amount of money originally ex- pended in this field to build lines for trans- portation to the refineries, this is not an unfair price for the production. It will doubtless, how- ever, in the near future, command a better price.

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Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical, Part 134

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