USA > New York > Allegany County > A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York > Part 18
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March
14.760
12,619
II,777
7,342
6,545
4.904
3,214
3.485
April.
17,622
13,742
12,261
7,738
6,895
5,055
3,306
3,294
Mav.
19,522
13,793
12,193
7,407
6,535
5,224
3.595
3,385
June.
22,765
13,499
11,672
7,680
6,981
5,034
3,703
3,520
July.
23,884
12,38I
11, 114
7,363
6,802
4,843
3,252
3,474
August.
20,814
12,743
10,384
7,102
6,333
4,629
3,360
3,525
September
16,387
12,358
9,989
6,647
6,035
4,451
2,935
3,056
October
19,964
12,757
8,802
7,08I
5,885
4,494
2,688
3,171
November.
16,993
12,232
8,642
6,667
5,260
2,803
3,226
3,319
December
14,020
11,752
8,193
6,738
5,072
3,305
3,329
3,309
The estimated production of the Allegany field since its inception is shown in the appended table. The pipe line runs have been expanded to some extent to make allowances for oil that does not appear on the books of the pipe line companies.
1880
5,000
1881
600,000
1882.
6,450,000
1883
4,800,000
1884.
4,000,000
1885
2,800,000
1886.
2,300,000
1887
1,700,000
1888
1,200,000
1889
1,250,000
Total.
25, 105,000
The number of wells drilled in the Allegany field as shown by the pub- lished records has been as follows:
Wells completed to close of 1880. .. in 1881.
8
618
1882.
1,605
154
HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N Y.
Wells completed in 1883 ..
1,270
1884.
501
1885.
386
1886.
299
=
1887.
55
1888.
41
66
1889.
260
Total
5,046
The market price per 42-gallon barrel of crude oil has always varied considerable from month to month and from year to year. The following table affords an interesting study:
Monthly and yearly average prices of pipe-line certificates of crude petroleum at wells.
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May.
June.
July.
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Yearly.
'60
$19.25
$18.00
$12.6212
$11.00
$10.00
$9.50
$8.6212
$7.50
$6.6212
$5.50
$3.75
$2.75
$9.59
'61
1.00
1.00
1.00
0.6212
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.25
0.20
0. 10
0.10
O. IO
0.49
'62
0.10
0.15
0.2215
0.50
0.85
1,00
1.25
1.25
1.25
1.75
2.00
2.25
1.05
'63
2.25
2.50
2.6212
2.8712
2.8712
3.00
3.25
3.3712
3.50
3.75
3.85
3.95
3.15
'64
4.00
4.3712
5.50
6.56
6.8712
9.50
12.1216
10. 1216
8.8712
7.75
10.00
11.00
8.06
'65
8.25
7.50
6.00
6.00
7.3772
5.6215
5. 1219
4.6212
6.75
8.1212
7.25
6.50
6.59
'66
4.50
4.40
3.75
3.95
4 50
3.8712
3.00
3.75
4.50
3.39
3. 10
2.1216
3.74
'67
1.8712
1.85
1.75
2.0712
2.35
1.90
2.621%.
3.15
3 40
3.55
2.50
1.87/2
2.41
'68
1.95
2.00
2.55
2 821/8
3.75
4.50
5.1216
4.5716
4.00
4.1212
3.75
4.35
3.6212
'69
5.75
6.95
6.00
5.70
5.35
4.95
5.3716
5.57121
5.50
5 50
5.80
5.12/2
5.6384
'70
4.5216
4.5272
4.45
4.2212
4.40
4.1712
3.7772:
3.15
3.25
3.2712
3.2212
3.40
3.86
'72
4.0215
3.80
3.7212
3.52721
3.80
3.85
3.80
3.5816
3.25
3.15
3.8312
3.3212
3.64
'73
2.60
2.20
2. 1216
2.30
I.6212
1.32%
I.0212
0.95
0.95
0.85
0.55
0.6112
1.17
175
1.03
I. 5273
1.75
1.3613
1.40
1.261%
1.09
1.13
1.33
1.3212
1.44
1.55
1.35
'76
1.80
2.60
2.01
2.0212
1.9072
2.0134
2.2416
2.7188
3.81
3.372
3.11
3.73
2.5674
277
3.5314
2.70
2.6712
2.58
2.24
I.9428
2.0710
2.51
2.38
2.5634
I.91
1.80
2.42
'78
1.43
I.6514
1.59
1.3712
1.3514
1.14
0.988%
I.OI
0.8658
0.8217
0.898%
1.16
1.19
'79
1.03
0.98
0.8614
0.7872:
0.76
0.6888
0.6978
0.6718
0.69%
0.8818
1.058
1. 188
0.8578
'80
1. IOI
1.0378
0.884
0.78
0.80
1.00
1.061/
0.91
0.96
0.9678
0.9178
0.91%
0.9472
'81
0.95%
0.90%
0.8338
0.8614
0.8178
0.811
0. 7678
0.781/8
0.9778
0.91 14
0.8574
0.84%
0.8578
182
0.8318
0.8412
0.81%
0.783%
0.7112
0.54%
0.57%
0.5858
0.7278
0.9394
1.14
0.96
0.7878
'83
0.93.4
1.OI
0.9778
0.9438
1.0078
1.16%
1.0578
1.08
1. 1212
1.II18
1. 1412
1.144
1.0594
184
I. II
1.04%
0.9878
0.94
0.858
0.68%
.6313
0.817%
0.78
0.7178
0 72161
0.74%
0.8312
,85
0.707%
0.72%
0.80%
0.7816
0.79
0.82
0.9212
1.0014
1.0034
1.0515
1.04%
0.898
0.8778
,86
0.8888
0.79%
0.7774
0.74 1/8
0.70
0.6616
0.66
0.621%
0.633%
0.6518
0. 7158!
0.70%
0.714
,87
0.70
0.64%
0.63%
0.647%:
0.6414
0.62%
0.5914
0.601/8
0.67
0.7018
0.738
o 8914
0.8758
,89
0.86%
0.8914
0.908
0.88
0.831/8
0.75/8 0.8378
0.9518
0.99%
0.9978
1.01%
1.0815
I 0473
0.9478
,90
1.0594
1.0578
0 90
0.8258:
o 887
0 894
0.8978
0.8911
0 8178
0.801%
78
0.7298
0.6774
0.8634
,91
0.7474
0. 7838
0.74.4
0.717%
0.698/ /4
0.6818
0.66%
0.64
0.5816
0.601
0.5894
0.59%
0.67
,92
0.62%
0.601/
74
0.5778
0.5718
0.57%
0.5478
0.5212
0.55
0 54%
0.518
0.52
0.534
0.5598
,93
0 53/2
0.5798
0.65-4|
0.6834
0. 5834
0.601/
0.57?8|
0.5875
0.648
0.704
0.73/8
0.784
0.64
5
72
4.38
4.25
4.01
4.60
3.8572
4.79
4.66
4.65
4.8212
4.25
4.00
4.34
'74
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.90
2.4712
2.2215
2.00
I.4212
1.15
1.20
1.25
1.00
1.83
,88
0.9114
0.918
0.98%
0.82%
0.868%
/4
0.80%
0.907g
0.935%
0.908
0.85%
0.8034
0.6634
3.8216
It will be noted that the average price of petroleum in 1893 was in excess of the average price of 1892, which, with the exception of 1861, was the low- est in the history of the trade. The nearest approaches, with the exception noted, to the price in 1891, were in 1892, when the average price was 67 cents a barrel, and in 1887. when the average price was 662 cents a barrel. The low average in 1893 was due to the low price of the early part of the year and the prices from May to September. The last three months of the year show a material increase in prices, the average for December being 78} cents a barrel. This increase continued in 1894, the average for the year being about 85 cents. Early in 1895 the market began to boom, reaching in the spring the highest point touched in over 20 years. The price at $2.60 a bar- rel was not long maintained, however, and by summer time the Standard
155
OIL AND GAS.
bought at $1.25 which remained the quotation for six months. In Novem- ber however, the price went up again to $1.33 and over.
Early in 1895 the Standard Oil Company made a revolutionary change in its method of buying oil at the speculative prices of the exchanges. There are now two markets for our oil, the price which the Standard offers pro- ducers, and the quotations on the floors of the speculative exchanges. These markets do not differ a great deal, for the speculators dare not go far in ad- vance of the Standard's price. This trust has such a monopoly of the oil business that it absolutely controls the price irrespective of the law of sup- ply and demand which would send oil booming to $3 a barrel at least. At present (November. 1895,) the Standard offers $1.33 and the exchanges $1.42 a barrel.
Among the representative producers of oil in this field have been: Asher W. Miner. George V. Forman, McCalmont Oil Company, Hazelwood Oil Com- pany, Willett's Oil Company, Duke and Norton Company, Sawyer Bros. of Allentown, who own the only refinery in the county; Schofield Company, Anchor Oil Company. Hochsteter and Shirley, Scott and Fuller. Macken and Breckenridge of the East End Company, Thornton and Brown. Johnson and Pittenger, William McBride, John Haymaker, Charles Conroy, Franchot Company, Duke and Raydure. Anderson Bros., L. S. Anderson and others. At present E. C. and J. B. Bradley, the officers of the Empire Gas and Fuel Company, are the largest producers in the field. The East End Company, the Norton Company, Hochsteter and Shirley and Riley Allen are also large producers. Mrs. O. P. Taylor and Wm. O. and Charles, sons of the pioneer, possess valuable oil properties. To the indefatigable efforts of O. P. Taylor, a biographical sketch of whom appears elsewhere, was due the discovery of oil in Allegany in commercial quantities. He was, in the early days, a large producer.
LEASING .- The owners of the soil possess the oil right as well as the surface of their lands. Producers have two methods of dealing with these owners. One is to buy the property outright, surface and all. Sometimes, however, owners are loth to part with their land, and the producer leases the privilege of operating for oil by contracting to give the owner a certain per- centage of the production. This royalty runs from 1-16 to } of the produc- tion. There are original owners, now in the field, who have amassed fortunes from their royalties.
METHODS OF PRODUCTION .- Petroleum has been produced in America exclusively by artesian wells. In Japan the practice, even up to the present time, has been to dig vertical shafts from four to six feet wide to depths as great as 1,000 feet. The operation of drilling was once very expensive; now a well can be drilled at one-tenth the cost and in one-tenth the time that was required in the early days at Titusville.
DRILLING .- The present process of drilling in this field may be thus briefly described: Over the point where the well is to be drilled a derrick or rig 72 feet high is erected, forming a square at the base. 20 feet on the sides,
156
HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.
and verging toward the top to a square, having an inside dimension along the sides of 2 feet 10 inches. On the top of the derrick is placed a crown pulley, over which the cable or drill rope plays. The end of the rope inside the derrick is attached to a string of tools which measure about 55 feet in length and which weigh about 1,900 pounds. The other end of the rope is attached to a horizontal shaft, upon which it is wound and unwound at will. The power is supplied by a 15 to 25 H. P. engine and a 20 H. P. boiler through a rubber belt which passes over the large "bull wheel," which is itself attached to the end of the horizontal shaft. Directly over the hole to be drilled is placed one end of the "walking-beam," generally 26 feet in length. This rests near its center on a heavy post 13 feet high, known as the "Samp- son post." Before drilling the upper part of the hole is dug by a spade, then the process known as " spudding " is followed for a short distance, by mak- ing fast the rope to which the tools are attached to one end of the walking- beam. This beam is so operated by steam power as to successively raise and drop the tools, which pound the rock into fine fragments. After every five feet of drilling the tools are raised out of the hole and the broken debris with the water are taken out by a bailer or sand pump, an iron tube about 20 feet long, at the bottom of which is a valve so made that it opens when the bailer touches the bottom of the hole and closes when it is lifted off. The cost of drilling a well in this field is now about $1,500. Ten years ago it cost $2,000 or over. The depth of wells depends upon the relative position of the surface of the earth to the oil sand. In this county it averages perhaps 1,300 feet. When a well first strikes the oil rock its depth is accurately measured. It is measured again when it has been drilled to the bottom of the oil-bearing rock, the depth of which will average in this field about 20 feet. Beneath this a "pocket " 10 to 15 feet deep is usually drilled. Some operators however do not follow this custom, but drill only through the sand.
TORPEDOING OR SHOOTING .- The exploding of nitroglycerine in a well, popularly known as "shooting," has always been an interesting process. From 40 to 100 quarts are used, costing as many dollars. In 1882 a 40 quart " shot " cost $140. Glycerine handling is a hazardous occupation. In this field alone many " shooters " have lost their lives, and hair breadth escapes from frightful deaths are related by all veterans in the business. Wells are " shot " in order to break or crack the oil bearing rock so that it may pro- duce petroleum the more readily.
The usual process of "shooting " is to pour the glycerine into long tin tubes, which are lowered into the hole and exploded by dropping into the well a triangularly-flanged piece of iron weighing about 10 pounds, known as the "go-devil," which strikes a percussion cap on the top of the upper glycerine shell. The glycerine shells are placed in the well only through the oil rock, that is if the wells have 25 feet of oil rock and a 12 foot pocket, an empty tin tube 12 feet long is attached to the bottom of the first glycerine shells in order to raise it to a level with the oil sand. The few producers
157
OIL AND GAS.
who do not drill below the oil sand use a " dump shot, " lowering the ex- plosive into the hole by the bailer. Col. W. A. Meyers of Bolivar is the pioneer glycerine man of the Allegany field. He claims the honor of mak- ing the first pound ever exploded in a well. In 1869 he had a factory at Titusville where at first he mixed the explosive in earthen crocks. After- wards he invented a machine which turned out 400 cans a day. In 1882 he was manufacturing 5.000 pounds of glycerine daily at Bolivar. Glycerine is generally transported to the well in gallon cans in a specially arranged spring wagon, over rough roads, and, quite likely, drawn by a team of fractious horses driven by the careless "shooters." With quantities to suit the de- mand of the well owners these wagons are driven into every corner of the country where oil is produced or wells drilled. It is not unusual for an order for a " shot " to be received from a distance of 100 miles, and often the "fiend " will start and travel night and day over rough and smooth high- ways, and will arrive on time or kill a team in the attempt. Within two years two Allegany men have lost their lives in this labor. Their places were easily and immediately filled.
PUMPING AND DISPOSING OF THE OIL .- In the early days of this field's history, a large number of wells, after being " shot " produced oil naturally, that is they flowed periodically. This was caused by the gas pressure, which soon diminished. It was found necessary then to pump the wells. This is done by a lift pump working by means of "sucker rods " through the 2 inch iron tubing which is put into the hole from top to bottom. The 55 inch casing is outside the tubing, and reaches only deep enough (300 feet on the average) to shut off the water, which naturally flows into the wells from the upper walls of the hole. Every lease is furnished with one or more wooden receiving tanks of 100 or 250 barrels capacity. Into these the oil is pumped from the wells. When these tanks are filled the "pumper " sends for the United Pipe Line Company's "gauger." who measures the number of feet and inches of oil in the tanks, and " runs " it into the Stand- ard Oil Company's pipe lines, which are connected with all tanks in the field. There is no choice in the disposition of the oil, nor but one way to dispose of it. The Standard Oil Company has the only pipe lines in the county. As soon as the gauger " runs " a tank of oil, he reports to the pipe-line office, and the owner is credited with the oil "run." He may keep the oil any length of time he desires by paying storage to the pipe-line company. He may sell at any time to any buyer or to the Standard Oil Company, which always stands ready to pay cash at the " market " price, which means its own figures. In this field the Standard has several minor storage and pump stations, from which the oil is forced to the large station 3 miles east of Wellsville, where there are seventy 35.000 barrel oil tanks, affording a stor- age capacity of 2,450,000 barrels. From here the oil is forced through a 6 inch line, of which the company has two running side by side, to Cameron Mills, and thence, through several stations, to refineries at Bayoune, N. J.
The process of pumping one well has been briefly noticed. After a
158
HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.
lease or oil farm has been thoroughly drilled, with a well on perhaps every 5 acres, the wells may be rigged together for pumping in different ways. The old method was by an engine at each well and one steam boiler for from 6 to 20 wells. Steam lines ran from the boiler, which was centrally located, to each engine. This method, with a combination of make-shifts, in still much in use. Riley Allen, the veteran producer, has among his employees one man who pumps 40 wells. In one instance he uses one boiler for 30 wells. When an engine is not used for each well, surface rods, arranged to pull back and forth, are employed.
NATURAL GAS .- Gas in greater or less quantity is always found with petroleum, but petroleum does not always occur with gas. For the early field operations for oil sufficient gas was found to flow the wells and also to furnish fuel for the drilling of additional wells. The oil wells in the vicinity of Allentown produced such a quantity of gas that, in 1882, the Empire Gas Company laid lines from them to furnish Wellsville with fuel and light. The villages of Allentown, Richburg and Bolivar were also supplied by this company. These Allentown gas wells supplied 200 boilers at drilling wells in 1882, and, being otherwise improvidently handled, showed signs of ex- hustion in 1888. In 1889 the Empire Gas and Fuel Company laid lines to the strong gas wells which the firm had developed in Oswayo and Sharon town- ships, Potter county, Pa. These wells, now 23 in number, lie just across the state line, 12 to 14 miles from Wellsville. They produce no oil, but adequately meet all the present gas demands of Wellsville and the other villages supplied. The company owns a large amount of undrilled territory in the vicinity of the wells now producing, and will be able to supply fuel and illuminating gas to its consumers for 25 years to come. The drilling in this gas region varies from 1,400 to 1,600 feet. From 30 to 90 feet of sand is found. The rock pressure is 250 pounds.
The richest gas territory in Allegany county lies in Clarksville and Wirt where there are now 80 producing gas wells. The Cuba Gas Company, or- ganized in 1884, obtains its supply from these towns. The Allegany Gas Company, supplying Friendship and Belmont, also has its wells in Clarks- ville and Wirt. The Mutual Gas Company supplies Andover, Greenwood and Whitesville. Its gas comes from the Andover oil and gas pool. In all nine Allegany villages burn natural gas including the three largest towns. In winter probably 8,000 stoves in Allegany flush with the glow of the most luxurious fuel which Providence has provided. In Wellsville, with its 800 to 1,000 consumers, only 15 meters are used. In Cuba one-third the con- sumers use meters.
The Empire Gas and Fuel Company's rates are:
Cook stoves by the year.
$33.00
6
month in summer. 66 winter ..
2.50
3.50
Heating stoves by the month in summer.
1.00
winter.
3.50
Lights
dwellings.
25
46 stores.
30
159
AGRICULTURE.
Rates are arranged according to size of rooms heated, and yearly rates on heating stoves may be thus obtained. When metered the company charge 22 cents per thousand cubic feet.
To estimate the worth of the gas produced in the Allegany field is im- possible. That it aggregates a great sum all agree. In drilling the 5.500 wells scattered over the field as well as in pumping them, the gas supply has saved an immense outlay for fuel. Gas has been carelessly wasted and in enormous quantities. Wells have been left open, and gas lines from pumping wells are usually very heedlessly looked after. In the years to come producers and other consumers of natural gas will realize that every foot taken from a well just so much diminishes the supply. It is by no means inexhaustible.
CHAPTER XXVI.
OUR AGRICULTURE. *
BY A. W. LITCHARD, ESQ.
T is not only a fitting thing but a high privilege that we enjoy to-day as farm- I ers interested in the cultivation of the soil and the development of the agricultural resources, to be permitted to stand on this elevation and over- look and briefly review the progress made, the privations endured, the vic- tories won during a century of time by those who by their sturdy manhood and womanhood made our county what it is in an agricultural point of view, one of the most prosperous in the Empire State. Born in poverty with a cold and frosty climate, with the land covered with heavy timber, with no near market for their limited products, the pioneers had a cheerless outlook. Yet despite all discouragements our county has steadily grown from a small clearing on Dike's creek in Wellsville in 1795, to a county covered over with productive farms and such comfortable homes as are seldom seen in any country. It is a fact that should not be overlooked or forgotten, that the first farmer who located in this county was a person of culture and of prac- tical ability, He could build a mill, tan leather, make shoes for his children. do his own blacksmithing, and, at the same time, establish that which was more valuable than all the rest, a good character. Such a man was Nathan- ael Dike.
Very little progress was made by the settlers in the way of farming for the first quarter of the century. Sparse settlements were made here and there in different sections. The year 1816 was a trying one for the pioneers.
* Paper read at Wellsville Centennial, 1895.
160
HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.
It was known for many years as the " Allegany county famine," and if it had not been for the liberality of Gen. William A. Mills, of Mt. Morris, who fur- nished the settlers with wheat and corn (in many instances without compen- sation), many would have suffered severely if they had not perished with hunger. The chief sources of revenue to the settlers were lumber, shingles and maple sugar. The lumber in order to find a market had to be drawn to Cuylerville, Canisteo, Dansville, and often as far as Rochester. One source of revenue to the people was going north each year to assist the farmers in the lower Genesee Valley to harvest the wheat. Large companies of men could be seen every year carrying rakes and cradles on their shoulders, migrating to that better country to earn something to carry their families through the winter up in this poor county. Among these yearly travelers was a young man, good-looking and ambitious, who has since made a repu- tation and built up for himself a character which commands the respect and admiration, not only of the people of Allegany but of the entire nation, H. M. Teller, United States Senator.
To say that the early settlers of Allegany county were poor is putting the facts mildly. Many were of New England stock, intelligent, industrious and possessed of those qualities of character which always overcome opposi- tion and win success. No county in the state was regarded so unfavorable and uninviting as this one we to-day call our own. Well do I remember when my father and mother bade good-bye to their well-to-do friends in Livingston county where plenty abounded, and took their four children and came up into poor Allegany to build up a home where only $400 was required to buy a farm.
In 1841 the Genesee Valley canal was completed to Mt. Morris, and in 1851 the Erie railroad was completed from Hornellsville to Dunkirk. With these permanent advantages in the way of better markets new hopes dawned upon the people, and agricultural development took on new life. The ad- vancement made during the next 25 years was marked and permanent The farmers paid less attention to lumbering and more to the clearing of the land, raising better stock and making their homes more comfortable in every way. As the years sped on changes came. Carding mills took the place of hand carding and home weaving. Little was had by the rural people that the farm did not furnish. They had oxen for work, cows for the dairy, sheep for clothing. Threshing grain by flails was abandoned. The old wooden plow was laid aside and a better one put in its place. The sun-dial and horn announcing the time of day or warning the settlers against danger that their stock might be protected became a thing of the past. The town clock and the whistle of the locomotive spoke surely of better markets and better times. So did the mowing machine in the field, the sewing machine in the house. The ox team for farm work and church going on Sunday was super- seded by well-bred horses and comfortable conveyances. Development of intelligence through agricultural progress, the improvement of the farm
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AGRICULTURE.
home, and a higher social position of the farmer's family marked a new era in agricultural development.
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES .- Butter and cheese have been in the past, and will, I doubt not, be in the future our farmer's chief sources of revenue. In an early day the dairy interest was neglected. Up to 1844 our cheese and butter product was small. There were no cheese or butter factories, the work was all done on the farm. In 1845 the whole number of milch cows in the county was 16,517. The number of pounds of butter manufac- tured was 1,268,960; pounds of cheese manufactured same year 806,014. Alfred made 204,600; Independence 108,530; Rushford 106,755; Centerville 57,910. All the other towns fell below 50,000 pounds. Four leading farmers that year in Rushford, Talcott, Mckinney, Slocum and Kendall, sold and delivered to Cuylerville (then the head of the Genesee canal) four tons of cheese for which they received 4} and 5 cents per pound. The first pine apple cheese made in this state was made in Rushford. The patent was issued in 1808 and bears the signature of James Madison. Now after fifty years we note the advancement made. In 1892 we had 80 cheese factories, and the total amount made was 8,538,800 pounds. The increase in the but- ter product was less by far than cheese. Among the extensive dealers in cheese we mention only two of the leading firms: Ackerly & Sill of Cuba and Wm. C. Burdick & Co. of Alfred. These firms alone do a business of over 8800,000 a year. No county in the state sustains a better reputation for fine butter and cheese than Allegany. We have a home market that ranks with the best and in point of value stands third in the United States.
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