306 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



For the Nete England Farmet . 

 OIL WELLS. 



Mecca, Teumbull Co., Western Resebvb, Ohio, ) 

 February 12, 1861. \ 



Messrs. Editors:— On this my second visit 

 to Mecca, and to the oil wells, I niay not neglect 

 to give you some account of this remarkable pro- 

 duct of the Western Reserve. Perhaps I alluded 

 to the discovery of this oil in my last communi- 

 cation, but I think I gave you no particulars of 

 its qualities, and of the prospects of obtaining it 

 in any considerable quantities. Having spent a 

 great part of this day in examining the country 

 ■which is being vexed to give up its treasures, not 

 of gold like California, but that which can be 

 exchanged for gold, and having examined several 

 wells, witnessed the pumping, and the process of 

 separating the oil from the water, let me give you 

 a brief account of what I saw among the move- 

 ments at this place, once known as Mecca, or 

 Powers' Corners, now christened "Oildom," 



It is only about one year since the first well 

 was opened, the first drilling commenced at 

 Powers' Corners, a small and unpretending vil- 

 lage of a half-dozen dwellings, a single store, inn, 

 and a small meeting-house. It had long been 

 known that the well water about the Corners had 

 a greasy quality, was hard, and had a disagreea- 

 ble taste ; but it did not seem to alarm the inhab- 

 itants, or to lead them to suspect that a portion 

 of their daily drink rightfully belonged to their 

 lamps. How much oil the old residents have 

 consumed with their drinking water, can never be 

 known, nor is it of much consequence to inquire. 

 The town has been a healthy one, the oil drank 

 to the contrary, notwithstanding. Still, it must 

 be admitted that the Mecca water will lose none 

 of its nutritive qualities by being separated from 

 the oil. And such a separation seems likely to 

 be made by the enterprise of the men who are 

 pumping night and day. 



It was the rumor of the oil wells of Pennsylva- 

 nia which put our Mecca friends in search of the 

 same source of wealth at their own doors. When 

 I arrived in Mecca for the first time, August 8, 

 1860, quite a number of wells were at work 

 pumping water, some of them at the rate of sixty 

 barrels per hour. These wells, at that time, were 

 said to yield from one to fifteen barrels per day. 

 There were about one hundi*ed and fifty wells un- 

 der way in August ; some in successful opera- 

 tion, others being partially drilled, and a few 

 abandoned as afi'ording no oil. Each well has an 

 engine for pumping, the cost of which is from 

 $500 to $600. This is the chief expense required 

 for commencing operations. The drilling is thus 

 far chiefly performed by hand, and requires but 

 three laborers at one time. Three large vats of 

 pine plank are built, into one of which the water 

 is pumped. An orifice near the bottom of the 

 vat No. 1 allows the water to enter vat No. 2, 

 and in the same manner into vat No. 3. The oil 

 continually rises to the top of the water, some- 

 times covering the entire surface. It is of the 

 consistency of syrup or thick molasses, and is 

 sometimes bluish, sometimes of a yellow color. 

 It is drawn off by a brass cock inserted near the 

 top of vat No. 1. The water escapes at the bot- 

 tom into vat No. 2, and the remnant of the oil 

 which escapes with the water rises to the top of 

 the second vat, and is drawn off like the first ; so 



also into the third and in some cases into the 

 fourth. And after all, more or less oil escapes, 

 and runs off" in the ditches, as I saw everywhere 

 by the side of the road. In August, a small, 

 poor boy was pointed out to me who had scooped 

 up two barrels from these ditches. I was sorry 

 to learn on my late visit, that hisboyship had got 

 above his business, though others and older ones 

 had taken it up and were doing well. 



Some one informed me that the oil as drawn 

 into casks for Cleveland, where it is refined, con- 

 tains 82 per cent, pure light, 13 per cent, lubri- 

 cator, 5 per cent., or the remainder, asphaltum. 

 This may not be strictly correct. I will obtain a 

 more accurate analysis, if possible, when I shall 

 again visit the wells of the refinery at Cleveland. 

 A refinery is in operation in the town of Bazetta, 

 some five miles from Mecca, and a small one in 

 the midst of the wells near Powers' Corners was 

 burned to the ground while I was in town. Oth- 

 ers will doubtless ere long be erected, as the busi- 

 ness must be a profitable one. 



On my second visit to Mecca, February 1, I 

 was astonished at the progress of things in oil 

 digging and building. A good deal had been 

 done about Powers' Corners, but the principal 

 improvements were to the south on the road to 

 Warren. For more than two miles the road is 

 lined with houses, most of them small stores, 

 groceries, mechanics' shops and dwelling-houses. 

 Among these are the wells, with their pumps and 

 machinery. Along the road to the east lies the 

 Cowdry farm, which is literally pierced with 

 wells, which are bringing the proprietor great 

 profits. The road to the west is skirted by a 

 wooded tract, but here also are many wells, and 

 the number is daily increasing. The place is 

 crowded with visitors and with strangers who are 

 seeking employment as laborers, or who come to 

 lease or purchase lands. As we rode along the 

 street, I was reminded of Broadway, New York, 

 or of Washington Street of your city, a perfect 

 jam. Lands which, fifteen months ago, would 

 scarcely sell for $25 per acre, now bring $500 or 

 more. Most owners of land choose rather to lease 

 than sell, demanding a pretty good bonus, to- 

 gether with a share of the oil obtained. Some of 

 these resident land owners are making much 

 money by the enterprise, and doubtless some of 

 the owners and leasers of wells ore doing a fair 

 business ; but not a few of these latter are mak- 

 ing small wages. Business, however, in Mecca, 

 has greatly increased. Mechanics, carpenters, 

 blacksmiths and others are flocking into the place. 

 Great is the demand for wood, lumber, brick and 

 stone. Provisions are needed, and are brought 

 along daily. Three daily stages run from Mecca 

 to Warren, ten miles distant, and additional ones 

 will soon be needed. If the oil wells shall hold 

 out, there will be need of a railroad, ere long, to 

 connect the town of Mecca with Warren. 



Allow me to remark, in concluding what I have 

 to say on the oil springs or wells of Mecca and 

 vicinity, that while good may come of it, pecuni- 

 arily, I much fear that the morals of the whole 

 region will greatly suffer. Intemperance, gam- 

 bling, and kindred vices, are rapidly increasing, 

 and there is reason to fear that the town of Mec- 

 ca will purchase her "good fortune," as some of 

 them term the discovery of oil wells, at the price 

 of her good morals. Were I an Ohio farmer, I 



