Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 23

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 23

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In District Number 6 the justices of the peace were: Eliakim Anderson, 1804;

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John Brackney, 1805; A. Bryson and Thomas Christy, 1808; William Dodds, 1812; Robert Martin, 1815; Thomas Sul- livan, 1819; Thomas Christie, 1820; John Thompson, 1827; Henry Dufford, 1830; Robert Hampson, 1813; George A. Kirk- patrick, 1832; Thomas Stewart, 1835.

Commissions were issued to the follow- ing justices of the peace in the county in 1907: George Graham, Fairview Bor- ough; W. F. Lytle, Butler Borough; T. H. Wheeler, Harmony Borough; P. P. Brown, West Sunbury Borough; A. R. Thompson, West Sunbury Borough; M. J. Leonard, Chicora; James F. McKee, Prospect Bor- ough; A. D. Groome, Parker Township; W. P. Day, Fairview Township; J. P. Gett- man, Lancaster Township; O. P. Graham, Cranberry Township; Isaac N. Wright, Cranberry Township; W. H. H. Camp- bell, Venango Township; Solomon Pon- tius, Donegal Township; W. P. Hig- gins, Oakland Township; John F. McCoy, Cherry Township; J. T. Black, Marion Township; James McMichael, Clay Town- ship; Philip Hilliard, Washington Town- ship; Charles Snyder, Harrisville Bor- ough; John A. Eichert, Jackson Township; H. L. Allen, Allegheny Township.

In 1908 commissions were issued to the following justices of the peace: Zenas Mc- Michael, Zelienople Borough; Joseph Cris- well and James M. McNally, Butler Town- ship; J. N. McBride, Franklin Township; John S. Campbell, Cherry Township; John C. Dight, Adams Township; John W. Kal- tenbaugh, Penn Township; W. H. Bovard, Slippery Rock Township; P. G. Groome, Washington Township; J. W. Heslop, Ma- rion Township; John Blair, Venango Township; U. H. Book, Cherry Township; F. H. Davy, Butler Borough; Geo. W. Hu- selton, Chicora; Alexander Lurting, Mars Borough; Carl Butzer, Petrolia Borough; A. J. Smathers, Evans City Borough; H. M. Wise, Harmony Borough; S. W. McCol- lough, Fairview Township; Charles Ifft, Mercer Township.

APPOINTMENT OF COURT OFFICIALS.

Since 1893, the following court officials have been appointed by the various judges sitting on the bench:

Court Criers .- B. L. Hockenberry, ap- pointed in 1894 and served until Septem- ber, 1902, when he resigned and J. S. Campbell was appointed to fill the va- cancy; Joseph Criswell was appointed in 1903, and William H. Walker, June 9, 1906.

Court Stenographers .- Ed. S. Riddle, appointed December 11, 1894, by Judge Greer, and reappointed January 1, 1903, by Judge Galbreath; Miss Ada Findley was appointed assistant court stenogra- pher January 9, 1903; Miss Georgie Chris- tie was appointed assistant court stenogra- pher May 4, 1908, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Miss Findley.

Court Auditors .- 1893, Frank Stauffer; 1894, W. C. Findley; 1895, Harry L. Gra- ham; 1896, Raymond L. Cornelius; 1897, E. H. Negley; 1898, F. H. Murphy ; 1899, Kennedy Marshall; 1900, John W. Coul- ter; 1901, T. James Dodds; 1902, John H. Jackson; 1903, Charles B. Adams; 1904, Charles H. Miller; 1905, James B. Mates; 1906, Thomas Watson; 1907, Samuel S. At- well.

Tipstaves appointed by the court since 1893 .- At the March term of court, 1895, the following appointments were made: John Mitchell, John Shaffner, Elias Boyer, and Robert McElhaney. In August of the same year John Mitchell resigned and James C. Welsh was appointed to fill the vacancy. In 1898 the court made the fol- lowing appointments : Hugh Morgan, Rob- ert Harbison, and Christ Henchberger. In 1900, W. W. Maxwell, O. P. Campbell and R. O. Lewis were appointed. In 1903, Jo- seph Henchberger, Harmon Seaton, Capt. John G. Bippus and F. M. Renno. The same year the court fixed the compensa- tion of these officers at $2 per day. At the December term, 1905, W. H. Aber and George W. Campbell were appointed to

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fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of F. M. Renno and Joseph Henchberger. In 1907 W. H. McCandless and James A.

McMarlin were appointed and the same year the pay of these officers was increased by order of court to $2.50 per day.

CHAPTER VI

THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES

Early Oil Discoveries-Petroleum Used as Medicine-Its Commercial Possibilities Realized-Oil Company Formed-First Shipment to Europe-Early Oil Wells- The Parker's Landing Field-Petrolia, Karns City and Fairview-Greece City- Troutman Farm-Millerstown Field-The Bald Ridge District-Thorn Creek- Thorn Creek Extension-Reibald Field-The Hundred-foot District-Brownsdale and Cooperstown-Speechley Field-The Pipe Lines-Producers and Refiners- Natural Gas as a Fuel-Deepest Well in the County-Nitro-glycerine-Flanne- gan's Well-cleaner-Accidents and Tragedies of the Business-Death of Holland- Butler County Woman Killed-Miscellaneous Incidents and Sketches-A Loaded Porker-William Smith-The Montcalm Letter-Dunc Karns-Richard Jennings -Taylor & Satterfield-Plummer's Ride-The Producers' Protective Association -Beating the Railroad Company-Parker City-The Devil's Half-acre-The Wickedest Man in the World-The Agrarian Trouble at Renfrew-Wilson's Iron Derrick-Fortunes That Were Missed-The Lawyer Pumper-The "Spotty" Mc- Bride Well-Hoffman's Luck-Oil Country Honor-Oil Men's Outing Association -Prices of Crude Oil-A Disastrous Fire -- Thomas W. Phillips.

Petroleum was first discovered within the present boundaries of the United States about 1627 or 1629 by the Francis- can Father, Joseph de la Roche D'Allion, who located a bituminous spring at Cuba, in Allegheny County, New York. Little attention seems to have been paid to the matter at the time, however, but occasion- ally, at long intervals, we hear of other oil discoveries, as, for instance, in 1694, when Eele Hancock and Portloch obtained pat- ents for making "oile" out of a peculiar kind of rock. Again, in 1761, we find that oils were distilled from bituminous shale for medical purposes.

About the middle of the Eighteenth cen- tury the presence of oil in the region now

included within Butler, Armstrong, and Venango Counties seems to have attracted the attention of some of the French officers commanding forces in the Northwestern territory. Among them was Captain Jon- caire, commander of the French expedition down the Allegheny in 1749, who located an oil spring above Fort Venango on the Allegheny. According to a formerly ac- cepted account, Contrecoeur in the follow- ing year, in his official dispatches to Mont- calm, makes mention of the presence of oil in this field and describes an Indian cere- monial which seemed to furnish proof that some, at least, of the Indians in his day were fire-worshipers. This letter, the au- thenticity of which has been denied (see

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account of its origin in the article entitled "The Montcalm Letter," in the latter part of this chapter) read as follows:

" I would desire to assure you that this is a most delightful Jand. Some of the most astonishing natural wonders have been discovered by our people. While descending the Allegheny, fifteen leagues below the mouth of the Conewango and three above the Venango (French Creek), we were invited by the chief of the Senecas to attend a religious ceremony of his tribe. We landed and drew up our canoes on a point where a small stream entered the river. The tribe appeared unusually solemn. We marched up the stream about a half league, where the company, a band it appeared, had arrived some days before us. Gigantic hills begirt us on every side. The scene was really sublime. The great chief then recited the conquests and heroism of their ancestors. The surface of the stream was covered with a thick scum, which, upon applying a torch at a given signal, burst into a complete conflagration. At the sight of the flames the Indians gave forth a tri- umphant shout that made the hills and valleys re-echo again. Here then, is revived the ancient fire-worship of the East; here then, are the children of the Sun."

In 1779, when Broadhead's division of General Sullivan's army was advancing against the Seneca Indians, signs of oil were observed and reported in various lo- calities along the Allegheny River.

In the vicinity of Titusville, on the west side of Oil Creek, there have been found evidences of somewhat primitive oil opera- tions in a number of pits-several hundred in all-sunk in the flats of the creek, and measuring each about seven feet in length by six in depth and four in width. These pits had a clay bottom and were walled with halved logs. When the debris was cleared from them by the early discoverers they gradually filled with water, on top of which floated a thin coat of oil. The In- dian Cornplanter could give no account of their origin, nor has any definite informa- tion ever been ascertained in regard to it.

THE OIL USED AS MEDICINE.

The Indians and early white settlers made use of the oil for medicinal purposes. In 1806 a man named Carey obtained it from Oil Creek and sold it under the name of Seneca oil. It was found serviceable in rheumatism, in weakness of the stom- ach. in curing bruises and sore breasts, and

as a gentle cathartic, and had been pre- viously credited with these valuable prop- erties, in 1789, by Jedediah Morse, in the American Universal Geography, published at Charlestown, Mass. That its virtues were not generally known is proved by the fact that when General Hays, of Franklin, subsequent to 1806, shipped several bar- rels of the oil by wagon to Baltimore, the merchant to whom they were consigned emptied them into Chesapeake Bay.

ITS COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES REALIZED.

The distillation of petroleum had been carried on in Truscovitch, Austria, as early. as 1810, and in 1853 one Schrenier first used it for illuminating purposes; but the first practical method of refining was in- troduced by an Austrian named Toch, who built a refinery at Tarentum for Peterson and Dale. It was about half a century ago that interest in this peculiar product be- gan to assume a practical form. A prize of $1,000 was offered by S. Kier for the in- vention of a lamp that would burn the oil, and in 1857, largely through the efforts of Nevin & Mckeown, it began to be known as an article of commerce.

In the meanwhile efforts were being made to find some practical method of ob- taining a large and steady supply of the product. In 1858 a well in Canada was ex- cavated by pick and shovel to the oil sand, and in the same year a well 400 feet deep: was drilled by T. W. Nevin and Co. at Greensburg, Penna., though without suc- cess. The pioneer producer was found in Col. Drake, who in 1859 drilled the first well on Oil Creek, Venango County. Thus it appears that J. M. Williams, who exca- vated the Canada well above mentioned was the first man on this continent within the historic period to dig down to the pe- troleum; T. W. Nevin was the first to drill expressly for it, and Colonel Drake was the first to drill for it with success.

The era of commercial activity in this field began at once after the success of:

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Colonel Drake. In February, 1860, the Butler Oil Company was organized to drill for oil in the vicinity of Butler. The mem- bers of the company kept the project pretty quiet at first and the press took little no- tice of it, as all felt that they were tread- ing on uncertain ground, and they wished to blare no trumpets that might only serve to emphasize and advertise a possible fail- ure. There were not wanting others, how-" ever, to take the risks involved in view of a possible great reward, and almost daily reports of new discoveries, some on farms in various parts of the county, fed the ex- citement until the oil fever was endemic over the greater part of this region.

In the meanwhile developments were proceeding on Oil Creek that commanded the attention of the country, and indeed, of the world.

OIL COMPANY FORMED.

At a meeting held in Zimmerman's Hotel in Butler, January 19, 1861, a company was organized to develop the oil sand in the neighborhood of Butler. The proceed- ings of the company were very dignified and were conducted with a due apprecia- tion for all the proprieties, William Camp- bell presided at the meeting, and J. G. Muntz acted as secretary. Committees were appointed to draft articles of asso- ciation and select a site for operation. The company began business under the title of the "Butler Pioneer Oil Company," and on February 5, 1861, commenced oper- ations on the lot near the brewery south- west of the borough, and drilled a well to the depth of 800 feet without striking oil. Believing their enterprise to be a failure, the company abandoned the well. This well was located on the Negley property between Water Street and the Connoque- nessing Creek in the third ward of Butler borough, and a short distance from Wal- ter's Mill.

The next oil company organized in But- ler County was the Enterprise Oil Com-

pany at Prospect in 1862. Rev. A. H. Waters was president of this company and A. W. McCollough, secretary. The unoffi- cial stockholders were J. K. Kennedy, John W. Forrester, D. C. Roth, G. B. Warren, Mrs. Ann Bredin, all of the Prospect neigh- borhood, with E. McJunkin, Jacob Zeigler and James T. McJunkin, of Butler. This company drilled three wells at Harris' Ford on Slippery Rock Creek, one of which had a good showing of heavy oil. The, wells were drilled wet and failed to pan out. The company finally abandoned these wells.

FIRST SHIPMENT TO EUROPE.

The credit of making the first shipment of petroleum to European markets belongs to H. Julius Klingler and John Berg, of Butler. In 1863 Messrs. Klingler and Berg were engaged in shipping oil from the Venango County field to Pittsburg. The oil was shipped in barrels and transported from Titusville or Oil City by means of flat-boats, and when the cargo reached Pittsburg, the barrels were stored in large freight yards near the boat-landing. The shipment of the first cargo of oil to Eu- rope was the result of "pernicious activ- ity" on the part of the authorities of the city of Pittsburg. Many firms were en- gaged in shipping oil to Pittsburg by boat. and storing it in freight yards from whence it was subsequently shipped by railroad to eastern markets. Many thousands of bar- rels of oil were stored in the yards within the city limits, and the residents of that portion of the city became alarmed for fear of a fire. The city authorities investigated the matter and ordered the owners of the oil to move it. This order suggested the idea to Messrs. Klingler and Berg of ship- ping a consignment of oil to London and seeking a market for it there. According- ly they loaded one thousand barrels on to the cars at Pittsburg, shipped them to Phil- adelphia, and thence by clipper to Liver- pool, England, where they were consigned

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to Boult, English and Brandon, who Civil War, and made their first sale of oil bought the oil by the ton.

EARLY OIL WELLS.

The first oil well in the upper fields of Butler County was, it is said, drilled on the Joseph Meals farm in Washington Township, later the Dr. A. M. Hoover farm. It was drilled by hand to a depth of three hundred feet, and was abandoned on account of a flow of water, which stopped further operation. In 1889 a well was drilled within seventy-five feet of this oil well, which was a good producer and on the same farm and on the Shira, Clark, Bell, Miller and other farms, producing wells were obtained in 1893 and 1894.

The first oil well in the Millerstown field, now Chicora, was drilled in 1861 to a depth of two hundred and fifty feet, but the com- pany were from nine hundred to eleven hundred feet short in their calculations and consequently failed of their object.

Great excitement was caused in January, 1865, by the oil discoveries on Slippery Rock Creek. On February 2, Dr. Egbert, the oil operator of Franklin who had leased thousands of acres on the Slippery Rock, completed a well near Harlansburg that yielded a barrel of oil every thirty minutes. In March, 1865, the Smith and Collins well on the Campbell farm on Slippery Rock Creek, was drilled in and operated as a mystery. Some claimed it to be a hundred barrel producer, and others rated it as high as two hundred. The same year a heavy producer for the time was struck on Muddy Creek and one by the Clark Com- pany near the village of Wurtemburg, just outside of the western limits of the county. In May, 1865, a well was drilled on the Robert Glenn farm in Marion Township, then owned by Robert Vanderlin and at the same time a well was drilled at Buhl's Mill in Forward Township, on Connoquen- essing Creek.

The Sunbury Oil Company drilled a well at West Sunbury immediately after the

at Pittsburg in September, 1866, receiv- ing eleven hundred dollars for the first product of their two wells in Butler Coun- ty. The oil was barreled and hauled to Pittsburg by wagon.

In August, 1865, the Butler Oil Com- pany leased twelve thousand acres of land between the village of Martinsburg (now Bruin), and Millerstown, and controlled the land from Millerstown to Herman in Summit Township. This company drilled five wells, not one of which reached the Butler sand, and thus in an ocean of oil they found disappointment. The territory held by this company subsequently pro- duced some of the largest wells found in the Butler field. The company dissolved after this experience, but later its members were found identified with more success- ful operations.

C. D. Angell who in 1867 was operating on the Island property at Scrubgrass, came into Butler County and found every indi- cation of oil on a line extending to Har- mony through Bull Valley and Prospect, and in a western direction on a line be- tween Raymilton in Venango County and Slippery Rock in Butler County. In later years Angell became identified with the Butler County fields and was one of the largest producers in the district.

In 1868 the Jacobs Oil Company was or -. ganized by Butler men, being named in honor of Captain Jacob Ziegler, who never for a moment lost faith in Butler County as an oil field. This company entered the field of Martinsburg, and drilled a well which started to flow at the rate of sixty barrels per day after it had been shot, and was the first paying well produced in the limits of Butler County. This well was . purchased by Robert Black in 1872 for $4,- 000, and continued a small producer until 1880.

THE PARKER'S LANDING FIELD.

In the year 1860 Thomas McConnell, W. D. Robinson, Smith K. Campbell, and Col.

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J. B. Finley, purchased two acres of land on the west bank of the Allegheny River about ninety rods north of Tom's Run, from Elisha Robinson, Sr., and organized the Foxburg Oil Company. A well was drilled to the depth of 460 feet, when an ac- cident occurred, which obstructed the op- erations for a few days. In the interval the war broke out and the excitement in- cident thereto stopped all further proceed- ings and the well was abandoned.

Subsequently the same parties purchased one hundred acres known as the Tom's Run tract from Mr. Robinson, and in 1865 a well was drilled which was the first pro- ducer in that locality. It is a remarkable fact that the well drilled in 1860 was on territory that the operations of subsequent years proved to be dry. Had the well been completed in 1860 it would probably have prevented all future developments in that region for many years. The well complet- ed in 1865 was known as Clarion No. 1, and yielded eighteen barrels a day until 1869, when it became a twenty-five barrel pro- ducer. In July, 1869, there were twenty- five producing wells at Parker's Landing yielding 310 barrels daily. At the close of that month there were twenty-two wells rigging and eighteen wells drilling, so that the total in August was sixty-four. The old town of Lawrenceburg was invaded by the vanguard of operators and drillers be- fore the close of August and many Butler men went thither to share in the work and profits. Oil agreements were printed in the newspapers of Butler and everything pointed towards busy days. By the middle of November, 1859, there were 1,058 wells in the Parker and Lawrenceburg field. The first oil fire in the district was reported No- vember 21, when the Enterprise well above the Landing was destroyed. This well was the property of J. W. Christy, Col. John M. Thompson, Allen Wilson, W. K. Potts, and other Butler men.

The Valley well at Church Run on the Fulerton-Parker farm, was completed in

January, 1870, and was owned by M. E. Adams, John Scott, John M. Thompson, George Purviance, B. C. Huselton, and William McClung. The Barnes and Ter- rell well near by and the new well above the mouth of Bear Creek were also com- pleted in January, 1870. Before the close of the month a five-barrel well was struck at Martinsburg on the Farren farm, which was known as the Berg well. This well was owned by S. D. Karns, Herman J. Berg, and others. The Atlantic well in that neighborhood owned by Patrick McBride and others was reported in February, 1870.

The Thorn Creek Oil Company was or- ganized February 2, 1870, with Harvey Os- borne, president; Francis Laube, secre- tary ; E. A. Helmbold, superintendent ; E. F. Aderhold, treasurer; J. M. Dowler and H. T. Markel, auditors, and R. M. Douthett and James Gribben, business managers. This company operated in the Parker and Martinsburg district and brought in the "Maple Shade" near Risk Village, the "Isabel" on Thorn Creek, the "Walnut Shade" on the Fox farm, near Emlenton, and the "Church Run" well on the Mar- shall farm above the Valley well. These wells came in in March, 1870. Then fol- lowed the "Golden Gate," the "Shep- herd," near Lawrenceburg, the "Wyona" on the Farren farm, the "Number 12" south of Bear Creek, the "North West," the "Cataract," the "Eclipse," and other wells. The "Golden Gate" was owned by Butler men.

In April, 1870, oil was discovered on the Aaron Beery farm in Middlesex Township. James Sutton and other Butler County men brought in some wells on the Anchor farm on Fowler Run, and the Smith and Stewart well on the Fowler farm were brought in in April. The Glade Run and Cherry Valley Oil Company was organ- ized in April and began active operation in the Parker Township field. Among the wells brought in were the "Dingbat" near the old furnace on Bear Creek, the "Hoo-

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ver" and the "California." These were followed by the "Rush,"' the "Washing- ton," and the Turk and Shira wells, all in the first half of the year. In August the Parsons Brothers struck oil near Far- rentown on the Martinsburg Road and brought in three wells that were fine pro- ducers. Dr. Guthrie and William Gill of Butler brought in the "Millbrook" well on the Conelly farm. Dr. Cowden and Jacob Ziegler of Butler brought in the "Estella" on the Logue farm, and Dr. Cowden, S. H. Bailey, and Newton of Portersville, drilled the "Udora" No. 2 on the Bailey farm. Other wells drilled were the "Nancy Adams" on the John B. Leonard farm, and the "Mullen," or "Glory Hole," were twenty-barrel producers. McGee and At- well drilled the Ida May well on the Far- ren farm in 1870, and Gen. John N. Pur- viance of Butler owned the Oak well on the Robinson farm.

The Cherry valley well drilled in Ve- nango Township in November, 1870, to a depth of 650 feet, showed the same sand as the Parker's Landing field. The Wolf Creek Oil and Salt Testing Company, of Centerville, of which C. O. Kingsbury was president, began operations late in 1870, and the Thorn Creek Oil Company organ- ized the same year, began operations in Parker and Venango Townships.

The Wolf Creek well No. 1 was drilled in 1870 for a Centerville syndicate, but was abandoned at a little over 800 feet. The tools were stuck in the well, the fish- ing tackle lost, and a heavy flow of gas drove the drillers away from their work. On one occasion the pressure of gas in this well raised a column of water one hundred feet above the derrick, and nothing was done to control the flow of water and what was probably one of the strongest gas wells struck in the county was literally drowned out. In 1871 the same company drilled at a point in the hollow near the creek two miles northwest of Centerville (Slippery Rock) to a depth of 1,423 feet, obtaining a

small show of oil and gas. This well was productive of some geological knowledge, but was a financial failure.

The first well drilled in the southwest- ern section of the county was on the Mul- ler farm near Zelienople in 1870. This well was drilled to a depth of 825 feet and then abandoned. Twenty years later the Harmony and Lancaster pools were de- veloped in the vicinity of the Muller well.

A man named Whann, who had been a partner of J. A. Satterfield at Pithole, made the second attempt to find oil at Mil- lerstown in 1870. He got the rig partly up when a two-inch plank fell on the head of the contractor and put a quietus on operations for two years.

In 1866 a well was drilled on the Adam Ritzert farm in Oakland Township, which showed the existence of oil and lead many people to predict that Butler County would yet prove an extensive oil field. The drill- ing of new wells around Martinsburg (Bruin) in August, 1871, and the extension of the field southwest towards Karns City and Petrolia showed that the time for pre- dicting was past, and that oil reservoirs existed in many places throughout the county. During this year the Borland well was drilled on the Robert Black farm, the famous Bennett well on the Stone House farm in Parker Township; two wells were drilled by Badger and Karns on the Stone House farm, the Heiner well was com- pleted on the Say farm, the Lambing well on the Fletcher, and a well on the Martin farm.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 23

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526