USA > West Virginia > Lewis County > A history of Lewis County, West Virginia > Part 30
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Perhaps the most spectacular oil strike in later years was on Polk creek where the first great excitement oc- curred. In 1912 a well was drilled into the limestone which made 1,800 barrels daily for a time; but as in the Camden well, the drill had merely struck an oil pocket which was soon exhausted.
The tests to delimit the area of oil production in
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Lewis County also served to fix fairly well the bounds of profitable production of gas. The Romine well on Fink creek was drilled into the Gantz sand in 1898. It was by far the greatest gas well in the history of the county. On 4 September 1900 the Flesher well on Sand fork was drilled into the same sand. No oil was struck, but it was estimated to be one of the greatest producing gas wells in the state. No pipe lines had then been laid to convey the gas out of the county to market, and the drilling of these wells was doubtless a disappointment to the operators. Negotiations were begun by them to interest gas companies in the Lewis County field, with the result that the following summer the Philadelphia Company purchased for $1,000,000 all the gas interests of Guffey and Galey in the county-a territory covering 75,000 acres in the heart of the gas belt. It was an- nounced that the territory would be developed further and that a twenty-inch pipe line would be laid from Lewis County to Pittsburgh. The gas interests of the South Penn Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company, were conveyed to the Hope Natural Gas Comanpy. For a long time, however, the gas was al- lowed to remain in the rock reservoirs until the com- panies could find a suitable market. Even when forced to drill by the owner of the surface to avoid having to give up the lease, the wells were shut in until such time as the proper connections with pipe lines could be se- cured.
Many of the home companies and independent op- erators who had drilled for oil and found only gas in large quantities, faced ruin because they were unable to secure enough capital to build pipe lines to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Baltimore and other markets. Their holdings were practically worthless. Other independent opera- tors turned to the manufacture of carbon black, thus converting the product of their wells to a form which could be readily disposed of. Two years after the Copely excitement two factories had been constructed near Wes-
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ton and were in full operation, and others were contem- plated on Polk creek, on Stone Coal and below Weston. Many carloads of the product were shipped every month.
The Weston State Hospital had been one of the large consumer of gas near Weston, and during the fluctuations in rates which took place in 1900, it was de- termined to drill a well on the Hospital farm with a view to securing a supply without expense save for the drilling, pipes and connections. Gas was struck in the Gantz sand, 25 February 1902, and immediately con- nected. It was estimated that the saving to the state as a result of the drilling was about $5,000 a year.
In 1904 the gas territory of Lewis County was ex- tended to include at least a part of Collins Settlement dis- trict. A well which had been drilled on the E. G. Davis- son farm at Crawford with disappointing results showed a greater production than had been at first indicated. As a direct result of the well the farmers of Collins Set- tlement have collected in rentals almost a million dollars. Pipe lines were soon laid to supply the villages of Walk- ersville and Crawford with gas. The production of the well was always small, and it ceased to flow after about ten years.
For the first few years after the discovery of gas in Lewis County the waste was appalling. Each farmer se- cured the right to the free use of gas, and fires were kept burning day and night. The connections leaked. There were no facilities for collecting the gasoline in the lines, which was disposed of by blowing thousands of cubic feet of gas into the air. The people of Weston heated and lighted their homes at so much per fire or light, regardless of the amount of gas consumed, with the result that millions of feet of gas were burned that were not needed.
As the Philadelphia Company, the West Virginia Central company, the Hope and the Reserve have ex- tended their main lines to all parts of the gas field, as they have laid mains of ten, twelve, sixteen and twenty inches
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in diameter to the gas markets of Pittsburgh and Cleve- land and Columbus, the value of all the gas wells in the county has vastly increased. Many pumping stations have been erected to take the burden of forcing the gas through the lines and to allow the pressure of the wells to send forth a greater volume of gas. Old wasteful methods of ridding the lines of gasoline have been su- perseded by the introduction of gasoline plants which refine hundreds of barrels of gasoline every month.
The area of gas production in Lewis County in- cludes all of Freeman's Creek district, nearly all of Court House, with the exception of a strip on the eastern bor- der, and the greater portion of Hacker's Creek. There are also many good wells along Threelick run in Col- lins Settlement and a few wells in Skin Creek The best producing wells are in Freeman's Creek and Court House districts where the volume is great and the rock pressure heavy. In Hacker's Creek district the volume is usually light-1,000,000 to 10,000,000 cubic feet at the most -- but the rock pressure is unusually heavy. As early as 1900 Lewis County was regarded as being the center of the largest gas field in the world. The opinion of ex- perts as to the value of the field has not been changed in the twenty years that has elapsed since that time. Fur- ther developments must come; more wells will have to be drilled in all sections of the territory before the sup- ply of gas in Lewis County is nearly exhausted. There is a vast territory which is as yet no more than barely touched. The successful completion of a number of wells at Frenchton and the surface indications farther south and west indicate that all of Lewis County is gas terri- tory.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Just as the developments and problems of the period from 1880 to 1900 were largely influenced by the comple- tion of the railroad to Weston, so the developments and problems of the past two decades have largely resulted from the discovery of oil and gas in the county. In some respects the period showed great progress in the social and economic life of the people; but new problems have arisen which are now only partly solved.
The effects of the oil and gas developments upon the agricultural interests of the county were extremely harm- ful. In 1900 Lewis County ranked as one of the fore- most stock raising counties of the state, standing sec- ond only to Harrison in the cattle industry. The abun- dant royalties for oil and the rentals and payments for wells in the gas fields gave the farmers sufficient income to maintain a comfortable existence without the back- breaking labor of cutting briars, digging out hickory bushes and building fences. The well-to-do farmers moved to the towns where they could enjoy the con- veniences of better schools, better churches, and com- parative leisure. Farmers' sons, who would otherwise have operated the farms when their fathers retired, had found the high wages paid by the oil and gas companies a greater incentive than the opportunities to develop the old farm and keep it producing. Farm labor was scarce and the prices were almost beyond the reach of the farm- ers owing to the competition of the oil and gas com- panies. The terrible condition of the roads which came as a result of the oil and gas development made the mar- keting of produce difficult and spoiled much of the at.
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tractiveness of country life. The drilling of a well on a farm was discouraging to the owner of the surface, for the location might be made in the middle of his meadow, and a road, which might be ten feet or a hundred feet in width, led to it from the highway. Aside from the actual damage to the land, fences were torn down, gates left open, and the existence of the careful farmer was in various ways made burdensome.
The result was that many of the best farms in the oil and gas territory were allowed to grow up in briars and bushes. The owners or tenants continued to live in the farmhouses, to cut the hay from the meadows, to rent out the pasture to cattle dealers for what they could get, and sometimes to cultivate a small corn patch in ad- dition to the garden. Little attention was given to im- proving the breeds of cattle and sheep, to the selection of seed or to other important features of progressive farm- ing which had gradually been built up in previous de- cades. The acreage in corn in Lewis County decreased twenty-five per cent in the decade from 1900 to 1910.
The farmers who stuck to their business increased their wealth through the ready market for their grain and produce which the oil and gas development created. Court House and Freeman's Creek districts increased greatly in population in the ten years from 1900 to 1910, and the increase is wholly due to the immigration of workers into the oil and gas fields. The country store- keepers and blacksmiths shared with the farmers in the prosperity.
In Weston the effects of the oil and gas develop- ment were immediately evident in the larger volume of business, in the increase of population, and in the devel- opment for the first time of a really extensive manufac- turing industry. By 1902 it was estimated that the oil business had added five hundred people to the popula- tion of the town. Twelve oil well supply stores had been established, and an extensive pipe line yard had been set aside. The capacity of the livery barns in ex-
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THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
istence in 1900 was insufficient for the needs of the hun- dreds of teams engaged in hauling supplies, and many new barns were built. East of the town the Weston Glass Company was erecting a plant. East Weston had been surveyed and lots were offered for sale. In 1902 the Bank of Weston and the Lewis County Bank were established to share the business which had greatly in- creased in volume.
The manufacture of glass in Weston began in 1902 directly as a result of the discovery of gas in the county. The location of the glass manufacturing industry de- pends primarily upon a cheap and plentiful supply of natural gas in the vicinity of deposits of glass sands, and good transportation facilities for the product. Weston is rather well fitted to be a center of the industry.
The East Weston factory was built and equipped for the making of glass tile by a new process. It was claimed that the company was the holder of the only patent for a wholly satisfactory glass tile, because other processes either made an inferior piece of work or there was too great a proportion of breakage in manufacture. The factory was in operation about five years, giving employment to about fifty men, until it suspended oper- ations on account of excessive breakage. In 1912 the company was reorganized for the manufacture of glass- ware specialties, but about the time the factory was ready to be opened again it was completely destroyed by fire.
In 1904 the Crescent Window Glass Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $125,000. The first plant was erected immediately. A second plant, more complete than the first, was placed in operation in 1907. The old plant was completely destroyed by fire in Feb- ruary, 1913, but it was immediately rebuilt. It has re- mained the premier manufacturing industry of Weston. The Bastow plant, now known as the Lewis County fac- tory, was placed in operation about 1910 for the manu- facture of glassware specialties.
The oil and gas development led to the establish-
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ment of other plants not directly dependent on gas for fuel, and to the enlargement of older industries. The Sun Lumber Company, the Weston Lumber Company and the Danser Manufacturing and Supply Company were all incorporated in 1904 or 1905. One effect of the industrial awakening was to increase the population of the suburbs of Weston. Homewood was established near the Crescent plant. The building of houses in the nar- row Polk creek valley was begun, which has resulted in the present string more than a mile long, Kitsonville and Haleville were more closely built up. In 1913 the McGary addition was opened. Some of the old houses inside the limits of the town were removed and more modern dwellings or apartment houses were erected in their places. The town soon bore an appearance of bus- iness prosperity such as it had never before enjoyed.
A consequence of the oil and gas development which was not so pleasing to the better class of citizens of Wes- ton was the establishment of gambling joints which ran wide open in the heart of the town. "Faro, roulette, craps and poker were in full tilt day and night," and many a man, after he had been made drunk by the free whiskey dispensed in the places, imagined that he could break the game; but invariably he left penniless. Sev- eral frequenters of the joints lost thousands of dollars.
Jane Lew became an important shipping point for gas well supplies after active operations were begun in the vicinity. Much of the casing for the wells on Kinche- loe creek, McCann's run, Hacker's creek and the sur- rounding regions, as well as pipe for lines through the vicinity were unloaded in the Jane Lew yards. In 1906 Jane Lew had excellent prospects of securing a glass factory. A lot sale was held to open an important tract almost as large as the area of the town. The village wa incorporated in 1907, for the purpose of forestalling fu- ture efforts to license saloons there. The increase in population since that time has justified the move. Street lights, sidewalks and other minor improvements have
JUDGE HENRY BRANNON
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been made by the town authorities. At present there is a franchise under consideration by the council for the construction of waterworks. The Bank of Jane Lew was established in 1903, and the Peoples Bank in 1911. The construction of the trolley line added to the prosperity of the town and made certain its future.
Rumors of another railroad to Weston were in the air as early as 1901. A right of way was being secured up the river from Clarksburg as far as Goodhope. Later, surveys were made from east to west-from Roaring creek to the Little Kanawha river, to locate a route pop- ularly supposed to be for the Wabash, which was re- ported to have purchased the Western Maryland rail- road. The route finally decided upon for the western extension of the Western Maryland lines was construct- ed by the Davis-Elkins interests as the Coal and Coke railroad. It passed through Collins Settlement district from one end to the other. Entering the county from Braxton at Orlando, it followed Clover fork almost to its head, passed through a long tunnel to the valley of the West Fork near Jacksonville, and continued up that stream and its left fork past Walkersville and Craw- ford to French creek in Upshur County.
The road was 175 miles long in all, connecting Charleston and Elkins, and forming the only north and south line from the Great Kanawha to the Monongahela valleys in the central part of the state. It taps some of the finest timber and coal lands to be found anywhere in the state.
The Coal and Coke railroad has been of great value in the development of Collins Settlement district. The products of the southern part of the county can find their way to eastern markets. Before the construction of the railroad most of the agricultural produce was consumed at home. Dairying and fruit growing on a commercial basis were impossible because the local demand for the products was not great enough to justify the expense. Much timber land on the upper course of the West Fork
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had remained undeveloped because it was unprofitable to haul the lumber to Arnold.
Immediately upon the beginning of the construction work in the fall of 1903 there was a market for dairy pro- ducts, poultry and truck in the construction crews along the route. The two tunnels caused two large towns to grow up with hundreds of laborers, doctors, timekeepers, merchants and other hangers-on. Nor was all the sud- den prosperity confined to the tar paper towns. Jack- sonville, Walkersville, Crawford and Orlando awoke to new life.
After the grading had been finished and the track laid in 1906 the laborers abandoned the shacks which were torn down. Jacksonvile relapsed into its accustom- ed somnolence. Other communities took advantage of their opportunities. A lot sale was held at Orlando which resulted in the building of homes for a large additional population. Enterprising citizens incorporated a whole. sale produce and commission house, and a representative of the new company was soon on the road. Blake and Chapman, both flag stations, afforded a means of travel for the people of Clover fork. Wymer and Jewell were also established as flag stations on the Left fork of the river.
The first extensive development of coal in the county was begun as a result of the construction of the Coal and Coke railroad. A party of Pennsylvania capitalists formed the Jacksonville Coal and Coke Company in 1906 and purchased the farm of R. W. Crawford at the mouth of Indian Cap run, and the mineral rights on the Reger farm farther up the run. A long siding was put in, a tipple constructed, and considerable coal was mined. A mining village quickly grew up in the old meadow, which usurped the rights as a flag station which had been given to a strip of meadow land near Jacksonville. The new village was called Emmart in honor of one of the officials of the company. The Elk Lick vein of coal which the company operated was tilted away from the
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THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
mouth of the mine, and this fact made the drainage prob- lem one of great difficulty. Some trouble also was ex- perienced in selling the product on account of the ex- tremely high ash content (14.95%). Failure to sell ad- ditional stock and to obtain credit to make needed im- provements caused the company to suspend operations. The land again reverted to agriculture, though a small village still remains there.
Walkersville, as a result of the building of the rail- road, soon entered upon a period of prosperity. The old rivalry between the village and Crawford had continued, the advantage resting now with one now with the other. At the time of the completion of the railroad Crawford seemed the more promising place, and it was selected by the railroad company as the site of the only regular sta- tion between Frenchton and Orlando. Walkersville was to be a flag station, the company giving as a reason the lack of funds to build a depot. The citizens of Walkers- ville raised by subscription sufficient funds to erect a standard station, and the railroad company, perhaps un- willingly, sent an agent there to occupy it. The energy of the people and the superior location soon turned the scales in favor of Walkersville. Besides being the nat- ural shipping point for Ireland, Duffy and all the other territory on the Right fork, it enjoyed a good local trade.
The lumber industry on the Right fork has been ex- ceedingly important. Immediately upon the completion of the Coal and Coke railroad, the sawmill site of W. E. Mick and Son below Arnold was abandoned and the mill moved to Walkersville, nearer the location of the timber supply. Many thousands of logs were brought from the upper valley of the Right fork by means of a wooden tramway until the distance became so great that the wooden tramway was no longer practicable. The Micks determined to build a narrow gauge railroad, and incor- porated the Walkersville and Ireland Railroad Company in 1907. The work was partly financed by two Grafton business men who had large timber holdings in the dis-
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A HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY
trict to be tapped by the railroad. Within a few months the railroad was completed to Ireland and log trains were running.
The people of Ireland, who had begun to receive shipments of merchandise over the new road, looked for- ward to the time when passenger service would be in- augurated. The owners of the road took advantage of the opportunity to be of real service to the community. During the winter of 1907-8 some mechanical genius of Ireland constructed a passenger car on a lumber truck. The result could hardly be compared with a Pullman, but it served the purpose for which it was built. From the time of its completion it made one or more trips daily. The train stopped wherever there was a passenger to board it or a basket of eggs to be taken to market. Con- ductor H. O. Wilson obligingly marketed farm produce and executed orders for groceries, delivering the goods at the proper stop and blowing the whistle to announce the fact. The road was a great convenience.
Subsequently W. E. Mick and Son acquired com- plete ownership of the Walkersville and Ireland railroad. As the supply of marketable trees became exhausted they extended it first to Duffy, then to Bablin, then to Ingo, from which point they "went in" to wildest Up- shur. The mill was moved from one terminus to the other following the progress of the road. Walkersville did not suffer from the removal of the mill. It was still the junction of two railroads of different gauges and there was plenty of work for several men in transferring the goods from one road to the other. The narrow gauge railroad has meant much to Duffy, Bablin and the whole "Shoestring". As the heavy timber was removed from the hills along Glady creek and the left fork of the Little Kanawha river, the underbrush has been removed also and farms have succeeded the primeval forest. The lum- ber jack has been followed by the permanent settler, and the last frontier of Lewis County has been passed. The whole of the county may now be said to have become
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THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
improved land after the lapse of almost a century and a half from the date of the first settlement in the Hack- er's creek valley.
As was expected Arnold lost nearly all its import- ance as a shipping point for the southern part of the county. The exception is in the case of live stock. The stock dealers of the section regarded the facilities of the Baltimore and Ohio as superior to those of the Coal and Coke, and continued to drive their stock to Arnold and Roanoke.
Plans have been made at various times by the Balti- more and Ohio company to improve the branch line lead- ing into Webster and Nicholas counties. Surveys had been made, both along the old line and from the mouth of French creek to Centralia. The latter route, if adopt- ed, would have eliminated the grades from Weston to the main line. Early in 1917 the Baltimore and Ohio purchased the controlling interest in the Coal and Coke, which thereafter became the Charleston division of the Baltimore and Ohio. The deal has solved many of the problems of the older road. Heavy freight from Rich- wood and way points is routed over the Coal and Coke from Orlando to Sago, thus avoiding the heavy grades on Oil creek and on Buckhannon mountain. Empty cars are sent from Grafton via Clarksburg and Weston, thus giving what is in effect a double track from Graf- ton to Orlando. The condition of the old roadbed along Oil creek has led to a proposal to abandon it and con- struct a short stretch of railroad from Arnold to con- nect with the Charleston division near Jacksonville.
The purchase of the Coal and Coke has enhanced the importance of Weston as a railroad center. The shops have had rather more work to do. Late in 1919 some of the principal offices of the Charleston division were moved from Gassaway to Weston.
Demand for street car service to Clarksburg followed the oil boom. In 1902 the Clarksburg and Weston Street Car Company was incorporated to build a line
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from Weston to connect with the Fairmont and Clarks- burg lines. Delays followed. Franchises were secured from the Harrison County court for the construction of a track via West Milford. After more delays the com- pany abandoned its intention of building the line up the river, and built a stretch of track to Mt. Clare. In 1912 the Monongahela Valley Traction Company was organ- ized and it took up the work in earnest. Franchises were secured from the county court of Lewis, and from the city of Weston. The route from Mt. Clare via Lost Creek, Jane Lew and Jackson's Mill was determined upon, the right of way was obtained and construction work began immediately. The road was well constructed throughout. The first car arrived at Jane Lew, 26 July 1913, and at Weston shortly afterward. The service ren- dered by the company was rather poor for some time owing to overloading the wires, but the difficulty was solved by the installation of additional power plants.
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