USA > Ohio > Hancock County > History of Hancock County, Ohio : containing a history of the county, its townships, towns portraits of early settlers and prominent men, biographies, history of the Northwest Territory, history of Ohio, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc > Part 70
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The well on Daniel Foster's premises gave an unremitting flow of gas, and would burn until forcibly extinguished. Few persons thought much of the phenomenon after its novelty had worn off, but it was useful to the Fos- ter family, and a source of amusement to the boys of the village. Findlay people bought wood for fuel, and lighted their houses with candles or whale oil, dreaming not of the strange fluid deep down in the bowels of the earth, where it had been stored by the great Creator, to be brought forth in due time by the developed skill and science of the nineteenth century. Within the limits of the village, north of the river, was a spring of water impreg- nated with sulphur, which tasted and smelled vilely. A lighted torch held above it would ignite the escaping gas, that burned with a blue flame, and threw out an intense heat. All these things were common knowledge and talk for many years, and similar indications of gas were found in scores of wells in different parts of the county, which were usually called "sul- phur wells."
Among the more thoughtful people of the county there was one man upon whom these natural phenomena made a deep impression at an early day, viz. : Dr. Charles Osterlen, then a young German physician, of Findlay. Being something of a geologist, he became earnestly interested, and, after careful investigation, concluded that underlying the village was a great nat-
Solomon Glaster
635
VILLAGE OF FINDLAY.
ural gas deposit which could be developed by drilling through the super- vening rock strata. The more incredulous people laughed at what they designated as "the Doctor's wild theories," some going so far in their ridi- cule as to intimate that he was crazy. During his investigations he dis- covered many strong indications of gas. all of which strengthened his belief still more in the plentiful existence of the fluid. In 1850, while passing by Robert S. Mungen's quarry, located in the east part of Findlay, the Doctor remarked to Mr. Mungen. "I smell gas very strong;" to which the latter replied, "Yes, I am almost suffocated by it." Dr. Osterlen at once mixed some clay and constructed a small hollow mound over a fissure in the rock, on the top of which he placed a wooden bucket. In a few mo- ments he touched a lighted match under the edge of the bucket, which was followed by an explosion, throwing the vessel into the air, and the gas burned for a short time. Some years afterward he observed on his farm, east of the village, a small patch of ground upon which nothing grew. He employed a boy to dig a funnel-shaped hole on the site, six feet deep, from which the gas began escaping, and upon applying a match the fluid ignited and burned for several hours. Dr. Osterlen continued to advocate his belief in an un- derlying natural gas or oil-bed, which the foregoing investigations had de- veloped into an absolute fact, so far as he was concerned, until many thinking men agreed with him. The subsequent discoveries of oil and gas in Pennsylvania and New York did much, no doubt, to strengthen his posi- tion and convince the most incredulous that there was a method in the Doc- tor's madness.
With the death of Daniel Foster, in 1849 or 1850, the property upon which the first natural gas in Findlay was found and used by that gentle- man, passed into other hands, and in the spring of 1863 was purchased by Jacob Carr, a dentist of the village, and previous proprietor of Carr's Hotel, which stood on the southwest corner of Main and Crawford Streets. In speak- ing of the purchase, Mr. Carr says: "When I bought the place, the tube and gun-barrel arrangement, which Foster had used to conduct the gas into his house, had been removed, and I found the water in the well so unpleasant to the taste that I dug a cistern, intending to run rainwater into it for family use. When the cistern was finished and lined with boards it would not stay in place, as the escaping gas would keep forcing it up. I removed the boards and digged deeper, until reaching the limestone rock, six feet and a half below the surface. I then found that the gas came up very strong through the rock crevices, and I concluded to try and utilize it, as Foster had done years before. I made a sheet-iron pipe, larger at one end than at the other, and, placing the larger end on the bottom of the well, fixed a connecting pipe to the small end sticking out of the ground, and conducted the gas into the house, where I afterward used it for lighting and cooking. I subsequently had a mechanic construct a sheet-iron drum. about six feet in diameter and six feet deep, and used this as a gasometer in which to collect a supply for my own consumption." These evidences of Mr. Carr's ingenuity and thoughtfulness are still in his yard as when constructed, though he has not used them since the great development of natural gas, but gets his supply from the company's mains.
In the meantime the development of petroleum in paying quantities in western Pennsylvania, in 1859-60, caused a flurry of excitement in Find- lay over the supposed presence of oil-bearing sand underlying Hancock
636
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
County; and as the real indications of the existence of petroleum were but little understood at that time, every sulphurous odor and gaseous exudation from mother earth was looked upon as a sure precursor of oleaginous wealth below. Among the places where the signs of the coveted fluid were sup- posed to be most strongly marked, was an old abandoned well on the north side of Sandusky Street east of Main, near the southeast corner of Frey & Son's drug store. This old well had long been dry, and was half filled with rubbish. But one winter morning in 1859-60, Daniel Dixon, an old- time merchant of Findlay, since deceased, while passing by noticed a strong gaseous odor coming from it. The oil excitement was then at fever heat all over the country, and thinking that perhaps he had found a sign of the much sought for article, Mr. Dixon procured an iron bar and began forcing it through the debris. Through the opening thus formed the gas poured out abundantly, and raised the old gentleman's hopes to a point of enthusi- astic anticipation. While thus engaged, a citizen of Findlay, now living, passed by and very naturally inquired the meaning of the vigorous probing of the old well. Mr. Dixon turned to the interrogator, and with a smile and a merry twinkle of his eye, replied, "It's oil, Squire, oil!" The next ' day Mr. Dixon had the old well cleaned out, and being a man of intelli- gence, soon found that the flow of gas resulted from natural causes which he did not understand. The matter caused no little excitement, how- ever, and it was some little time before it entirely died out.
A well on the premises now occupied by D. D. McCahan, on South Main Street, which is strongly charged with sulphur, caused some excitement soon after Mr. Dixon's explorations. Several experts examined this well and pronounced the sulphurous condition of the water to be from under- lying petroleum. The same notions prevailed about the sulphur spring north of the Blanchard. Nothing was done, however, toward testing this theory and the matter was soon forgotten by the 'great majority of the people. With the light of recent developments we now know that the escaping natural gas was the cause of these petroleum evidences, and also that petroleum does exist under the superincumbent strata through which the gaseous odors were then pushing their way to the surface.
Early in 1861 a company was organized in Findlay, with the intention of prospecting for oil, in which the following citizens were stockholders: William H. Wheeler, Robert S. Mungen, U. G. Baker, C. A. Croninger, Albert Langworthy, David Goucher, H. P. Gage, E. M. Burkle, William Mungen, J. B. Horn & Co., William Vanlue, Jesse Wolf, Frederick Hender- son, George H. Crook, Israel Green, Jesse Guise, Henry Brown, Isaac Davis, Dr. Bass Rawson and William C. Cox. The company was organ- ized by electing Israel Green, president; Robert S. Mungen, secretary, and E. M. Burkle, treasurer. The spot selected for the well was a few rods southeast of the Presbyterian Church, but the preliminary operations were suspended through the breaking out of the war and were never resumed.
The subject again began to be agitated in the fall of 1864, and with some show of vigor toward determining if oil existed in this county. In that year a party of gentlemen, who claimed a thorough knowledge of the business, came from the East, and, after an examination of the territory, de- clared that oil could be found here in paying quantities. In the winter of 1864-65 a derrick was rigged up on the premises of Jacob Carr by two men from Gallipolis, Ohio, and an oil-well drilled by a kind of spring pole
637
VILLAGE OF FINDLAY.
method to a depth of 141 feet, when the drill stuck fast in the bottom of the well, which was then abandoned. Of course no satisfactory results were obtained, and it looks strange, from our present knowledge as to the great depth at which oil has since been found in Findlay, that any could have been expected from such a primitive mode of drilling.
The Hancock Oil Company was incorporated February 9, 1865, by Messrs. Hanks P. Gage, William Anderson, Robert S. Mungen, K. S. Baker, C. A. Croninger, William H. Wheeler, J. J. Wheeler, W. B. Taylor and Squire Carlin, "for the purpose of engaging in the business of digging and boring for oil, salt and other vegetable, medicinal and mineral fluids in the earth, and for refining and purifying the same; and mining coal ores and other minerals." The capital stock was placed at $100,000, in shares of $10 each, and all operations were to be carried on within the counties of Hancock and Wood. Though the company was organized to prospect for oil, their charter was sufficiently broad to cover any valuable substance they might find. A well was sunk at Waterville, on the Maumee River, to a depth of 700 feet, and a little gas found, but the project was then aban- doned as a failure, and all further operations discontinued.
The same year (1865) Hon. Parlee Carlin, of Findlay, in company with William H. Ijams & Co., from the East, leased a large amount of property in this county "for the purpose of mining and excavating for petroleum, coal, rock or carbon oil, or other valuable mineral or volatile substances." As an equivalent for the use of his land the party was to receive "one full equal eighth part of the petroleum found at the well." The person from whom the land was leased was also required to furnish barrels in which to store his share of the oil. Messrs. Carlin, Ijams & Co., leased ground from Solomon Slupe, H. B .. Wall, Allen Wiseley, Henry Burman, Addison Hardy, Robert L. Strother and others. A huge derrick was erected on the ground now in- cluded in Gage & Carlin's addition to Findlay, but nothing was ever done with it. With the exception of the well sunk on the premises of Mr. Carr no efforts were made to determine whether oil could be found or not. This last excitement soon died out, and belongs to the unprofitable enterprises of the past.
Through all these years Dr. Osterlen remained firm in his belief that natural gas existed here in paying quantities, and a few others accepted his opinion on the matter as probably correct. We find strong evidence of this growing belief in the franchise granted in 1867, to Robert S. Mungen and associates, to erect gas works and light the town. In that franchise the fol- lowing clause relative to natural gas appears: "That nothing herein shall be so construed as to prevent said village or the citizens thereof from using and laying pipes for conducting all natural gas found in the wells or public cisterns within the corporate limits of said village." When the gen tleman who built the artificial gas works in Findlay was commencing the en- terprise, Dr. Osterlen told him to sink wells for natural gas instead of build- ing works. But his predecessors in the enterprise had consulted the State geologists, who informed them that natural gas did not exist in the State of Ohio in paying quantities, and, therefore, gave the matter no further atten tion. So a costly plant to manufacture gas from coal, brought hundreds of miles, was established, while all the time the vast deposit of natural gas under the town was making itself obnoxious to the nose and disagreeable to the palate of the man who was putting his money
638
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
into the enterprise. Dr. Osterlen while serving in the Legisla- ture had also called on the State geologists and informed them that in his opinion their survey of northwestern Ohio was superficial, and that a mighty bed of natural gas lay undeveloped in that part of the State. The geologists learnedly replied that whatever natural gas existed at Findlay came from Michigan underneath the bed of Lake Erie, and there was not sufficient gas here to pay for sinking wells. The Doctor bluntly told them they were all mistaken, and time would prove the correct- ness of his opinion. We now know that Dr. Osterlen was right and the geologists wrong, and the venerable physician was the main instrument in organizing the company which put down the first well, and proved to the world what every one now concedes-that a great natural gas bed underlies Findlay, sufficient to supply light and fuel for a city of metropolitan dimen- sions.
Early in 1884 Dr. Osterlen determined to make an effort to organize a company to prospect for natural gas, and approached Charles J. Eckels and Fred H. Glessner on the subject, both of whom agreed to join him in the enterprise. Henry Porch, George W. Kimmel, Peter Kunz, Jason Black- ford and Vincent H. Coons were next seen and secured as supporters of the proposed project. April 18, 1884, articles of incorporation under the name of "The Findlay Natural Gas Company," were drawn up, signed and acknowledged by Dr. Charles Osterlen, Charles J. Eckels, Fred H. Gless- ner, Henry Porch, George W. Kimmel and Peter Kunz, in the presence of Jason Blackford and Vincent H. Coons, and three days afterward filed in the office of the Secretary of State. The capital stock was $5, 000, divided into 100 shares of $50 each. On the 30th of April the eight citizens of Findlay previously named, together with U. K. Stringfellow and John H. Decker, entered into a private agreement. "to prospect for natural gas, petroleum, coal. minerals and artesian wells (all of which the charter covered), in and about the village of Findlay, Ohio," and share all profits arising therefrom. The subscription book for stock opened July 19, and on the 25th Dr. Charles Osterlen took fifteen shares; Charles J. Eckels, ten; Fred H. Glessner, five; George W. Kimmel. five; U. K. Stringfellow, five; Jason Blackford, two, and Henry Porch, two. Vincent H. Coons and Peter Kunz subscribed to the capital stock soon afterward, and the following persons were also subsequent stockholders in the enterprise: A. C. Heck, John Ruthrauff, J. W. Zeller, W. H. Haven, W. T. Platt, Edward Dietsch, W. B. Porch, Ernest Bacher, William Edwards, J. W. Gassman, Lemuel McManness, G. L. Cusac, Dr. Anson Hurd, John M Hamlin, Frank Karst, Sr., Isaac Hershey, Brownyer & Martin, Mrs. Harriet Detwiler, Mrs. E. H. Young and B. F. Bolton, some of whom, however, took very little interest in the progress of the work, as the enterprise was not then looked upon with much favor, outside of curiosity, by the great majority of the people.
August 22, 1884. Dr. Charles Osterlen, Charles J. Eckels, Henry Porch, Vincent H. Coons, George W. Kimmel, A. C. Heck and U. K. Stringfellow, were chosen directors of the company for the ensuing year, and at once organized by electing Henry Porch, president; A. C. Heck, vice-president; Fred H. Glessner, secretary; George W. Kimmel, treasurer. On the 5th of September the contract for drilling the well was let to Brownyer & Martin, of Bradford, Penn., at the following prices: $2,200 for 1,200 feet; $2,800 for 1,600 feet, and $3,200 for 2,000 feet, to which depth they intended to
639
VILLAGE OF FINDLAY.
sink the well if necessary to a thorough prospecting of the territory. Messrs. Eckels, Coons and Stringfellow were appointed to select a location for the well, and chose a site in the eastern suburb of the village, on the land of Dr. Osterlen. Work was soon after commenced by the drillers and pushed vigorously. The first gas vein was tapped at 314 feet, the second at 516 feet, the third at 618 feet, oil at 718 feet, and the general gas bed was struck at 1,092 feet. They, however, drilled on to a depth of 1648 feet, which was reached December 5, 1884, and operations were then stopped. Salt water was found in great quantity, and to shut off the flow the hole was subsequently filled up a few hundred feet. The drilling of this well cost the company $2.825, while the whole expense exceeded $3,000. But what of that in comparison with the great result. It had now been demonstrated beyond any doubt that natural gas existed here in paying quantities, and only a few months more were required to develop it to an apparently inex- haustible degree.
During the period that the company were engaged in sinking this well, many wiseacres condemned the scheme as a chimerical idea of Dr. Osterlen's; but lo ! when gas was found, it was very strange, indeed, how many there were who exclaimed, "I told you so! I always said there was plenty of natural gas in Findlay." Numerous "original discoverers" of this wonder- ful fluid have since appeared, but if ever a man deserved whatever honor attaches to the persistent advocacy for years and belief in the plentiful exist- ence of natural gas in Findlay, as well as to its first development, Dr. Charles Osterlen is certainly that man.
Though the well was finished and plenty of gas found, thousands of dollars were yet needed to push the enterprise to a successful completion, and in January, 1885, $5,000 of eight per cent bonds were issued to lay mains and pipe the gas into the town. A new board of directors was chosen for 1885, consisting of Dr. Charles Osterlen, Charles J. Eckels, Fred H. Glessner, Vincent H. Coons, George W. Kimmel, A. C. Heck and U. K. Stringfellow. This board elected Fred H. Glessner, president; A. C. Heck, vice-president; U. K. Stringfellow, secretary; George W. Kimmel, treasurer. On March 23, 1885, the capital stock was increased to $50,000, and an effort was made to dispose of some of it among the business men of Findlay, but though quite a number were called on the effort proved a fail- ure. No one wanted to invest money in the natural gas business at that time, and all seemed yet to view the enterprise with distrust. The com- pany also tried to sell some stock to capitalists of Bradford, Penn., and Columbus, Ohio, but they, too. held aloof. Money was then bor- rowed by the company on their individual notes, and the work of piping the gas into Findlay carried forward through the spring of 1885, with Vincent H. Coons as superintendent of construction, and in May the gas from the Osterlen well began to be used in the village.
Natural gas was now a demonstrated fact to the Findlay people, and in the meantime other parties had concluded to profit from the experience of those who risked their money when it required very strong faith to do so. A well was drilled near the gas works on East Sandusky Street by the old Findlay Gas Light Company, who shut down their works February 1, 1885, and began using the natural fluid; and another well on East Front Street was put down by W. K. Marvin, in which also plenty of gas was found. Three more wells were drilled in the summer of 1885, viz. : the
640
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
Adams, Lima Street and Barnd, and all proved successful enterprises. The first and last mentioned were owned by the old Findlay Gas Light Com- pany, and the Lima Street well by the Findlay Natural Gas Company. By this time it had become plainly evident to both companies that they were pursuing a very unwise business policy, under which neither would make any money. So conferences were held, and September 1, 1885, they consol- idated as the Findlay Gas Light Company. Since that event the company has put down four wells, which, with the Marvin well, previously leased from the owner, W. K. Marvin, makes a total of ten wells controlled by the Findlay Gas Light Company. In July, 1885, the Findlay Drilling Com- pany was organized, composed of a large number of local stockholders, and the Putnam Street well was sunk. The Kirk, McManness, Cory and Jones wells were private enterprises, while the Briggs well was put down by pub- lic subscription and donated by the citizens to the Briggs Edge Tool Com- pany. The Firmin well was drilled by the Trenton Rock Oil Company, the Matthias, No. 2, by a local syndicate, and the Taylor by a Pennsylvania firm. The following table gives the names, date of completion and depth of each of the nineteen wells put down in Findlay or vicinity up to the close of April, 1886:
1-Osterlen, December 5, 1884.
1648 feet.
2 -- Gas Works, January 20, 1885. 1200
3-Marvin, March 5, 1885. 1155
4-Adams (oil), June 1, 1885. .1207
5-Lima Street, August 1, 1885. 1215
6-Barnd, August 15, 1885. 1225
7-North Findlay, September 19, 1885. 1171
1321
9-Putnam Street (oil), November 18, 1885. 1312
10-Kirk, December 9, 1885. 1171
11-Aultman, December 20, 1885.
1142
12-Briggs, January 17, 1886.
1175
13-Great Karg, January 20, 1886.
1144
14-McManness & Seymour, February 20, 1886
1146
15 -- Firmin (oil), March 5, 1886.
1334
16-Cory, March 17, 1886 ..
1185
17-Jones, March 25, 1886. 1180
18-Matthias, No. 2 (oil), April 12, 1886.
1314
19-Taylor (oil), April 28, 1886.
1280
8 -- Matthias (oil), November 1, 1885.
Depth.
In drilling these wells the following strata are usually found: From 10 to 25 feet of drift, 245 to 450 feet of upper limestone, 800 to 900 feet of shales and slate (wherein 'is located a layer of from 40 to 60 feet of red rock) and then comes the Trenton limestone in which the gas and oil is found at a depth of from 20 to 50 feet. The flow of gas from thirteen of the wells mentioned in the foregoing table ranges from 200,000 to 2,000, - 000 cubic feet every twenty-four hours; while the estimated daily product of the great Karg well is 10,500,000 cubic feet. The Adams, though a good gas well, also produces about twelve barrels of oil per day. The two Mat- thias and Taylor wells are solely oil producing, No. 1 now averaging about thirty barrels per day, while the product of No. 2 and the Taylor has not yet been gauged. This oil readily brings from forty to sixty per barrel at the well. It will thus be seen that Findlay possesses what now appears to be an inexhaustible supply of natural gas. But a cloud of uncertainty has always hung over its permanency, and the general idea heretofore encour- aged by the State geologists has been that the gas was simply in "pockets,"
641
VILLAGE OF FINDLAY.
and it was only a question of time when such reservoirs would be exhausted. But we have already shown in this article that the learned geologist has been wrong upon every point connected with the existence of natural gas in northwestern Ohio, and if his ipse dixit had been followed, Findlay would still be using wood and coal for fuel, and the great underlying storehouse of nature would have remained undeveloped for perhaps another generation. Scientific and unscientific opinion appears to be about settled down to the belief that the supply of natural gas is produced by continual generation, and though wells may give out, and local supplies may fail here and there, like the great natural product of spring water, it will keep flowing from the earth forever. So far the supply from the Findlay wells seems to be on the increase, and with the sinking of new wells the gas pours forth with added force and denser volume.
In addition to the companies previously mentioned, several others have been organized for the purpose of prospecting for oil and gas, or to pipe the latter fluid to less fortunate towns. These are "The Findlay Oil and Gas Company," incorporated November 3, 1885; "The Hancock Oil and Gas Company," January 20, 1886; "The Findlay Pipe Line Company," February 3, 1886; " The Wood and Hancock Oil and Gas Company," March 11, 1886; and " The Limestone Oil and Gas Company." A large amount of land has been leased by these companies in Hancock and Wood Counties, the right of way for a pipe line from Findlay to Toledo obtained by "The Wood and Hancock Oil and Gas Company," and two have commenced active drilling operations. Tall derricks are springing up in every part of the county, and ere this article goes to press many more wells will, doubtless, be sending forth valuable streams of oil or gas.
The first feature that strikes an observer is the great supply of gas, as evidenced by its tremendous pressure. It comes not with a flow as ordin- arily understood, but in force like a mighty rushing wind. The gas from the great Karg well leaps and roars from its mouth night and day-a semi- volcanic pyramid of flame. The company has so far been unable to utilize the flow from this well, and, therefore, as a matter of safety allow the millions of feet of escaping gas to burn from an iron pipe extending from the mouth of the well to the bank of the river. Thousands of visitors have been attracted to Findlay during the past year to view her wonderful gas wells, and numerous articles relating thereto have appeared in the leading papers of the country. A special correspondent of the Toledo Bee gives the following graphic account of his visit, in February, 1886, to the great natural gas town of Ohio:
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