![]() During that time, in 1845, Edwin Drake fell in love with and married Philena Adams, who died during child birth. His family later moved to Vermont, which he left at age 19 and did odd jobs for 11 years. His innovative method of drilling for oil using an iron pipe not only caused a "black gold rush" but also placed him in the books of oil industry history.Įdwin Drake was born on Main Greenville, New York. His world-famous well was drilled in Titusville, PA, a small town in Crawford County. The excitement exceeded that of the California gold rush 10 years before.In 1959, Parke Dickey wrote in his article, "The First Oil Well," "No one is likely to question the fact that it was the Drake Well at Titusville which started the industry on its spectacular career…"Įdwin Drake was the first person to strike oil in America. Land along the creek valleys was quickly leased and drillers, teamsters, coopers, speculators and others flocked to the area. 27 at the unexpectedly shallow depth of 69 ft. Smith, who came to Titusville in the spring of 1859. He decided to drill for oil and employed a salt well driller, W. The first year he opened up the old springs and attempted to exploit them. Drake went to Titusville in Dec., 1857, to start operations for the company. Townsend, a New Haven banker, and his associates.Įdwin L. ![]() ![]() Financial support was finally obtained from James M. They were unable to sell stock until they published a glowing report on the commercial value of the oil written by Benjamin Silliman, Jr., a famous chemist and professor at Yale U. Eveleth, formed a company which purchased the farm on which the seeps were located. The spark finally occurred at Titusville, Pa., on the site of a famous oil seep that had been exploited by the Moundbuilders and later by the Seneca Indians and the early settlers. The combination of a large and growing demand for oil, a well-developed refining industry and a highly developed drilling technology provided an explosive mixture. It was inevitable that this new source of oil should come to the attention of the coal oil refiners, and that attempts should be made to produce oil by drilling. At most of these it was used to illuminate the plants and grease the machinery. ![]() Petroleum was produced along with the brine at nearly all the salt manufacturing plants. A drilling technology had developed, and the methods of cable tool drilling were mostly invented between 18 along the Kanawha, Muskingum, Conemaugh and Allegheny rivers. The brine was obtained from sands at depths up to 1,000 ft. It was soon found that petroleum was superior to coal as a raw material, but it was a scientific curiosity, occurring in many places, but in small quantities.Īt the same time along the tributaries of the Ohio River a considerable industry had grown up around the manufacture of salt. In the 1850's an industry based on the production of illuminating oil from coal was growing rapidly, and a refining technology utilizing thermal cracking and distillation was well developed. The demand for oil for lubricating the machinery and illuminating the factories had been supplied from tallow and whale oil. 27, 1859, was spectacular and its later history has been colorful and romantic.ĭuring the early part of the last century the industrial revolution was in full swing.
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