496 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



made in some such way. Gas has no doubt been discovered 

 scores or hundreds of times in this formation in similar ways. 



At any rate, it became known in the early years of the century, 

 when the permanent occupation of the lake shore belt was taking 

 place, that inflammable gas was found in the bed of Canadaway 

 creek, and indeed in many similar situations in this region. The 

 surveyors of the Holland land co. were among these early dis- 

 coverers. Moses D. Tennant, of Westfield, found in one of 

 their old field books mention of a spring which emitted an 

 " odorous air." The surveyors had traced it by the odor and had 

 also found that this " odorous air " could be ignited. A score of 

 years passed after this discovery before any new steps were 

 taken in regard to it. 



It was probably in 1821 when drilling was begun in Fredonia 

 in the smallest experimental way for natural gas. Though the 

 exact date is uncertain, the order of events is still held distinctly 

 in the memory of some of the oldest residents of the village, 

 who knew the persons concerned in the development and re- 

 peatedly heard the account of the several steps from their lips. 



Two grist mills (flouring mills) had at the date named been 

 established in Fredonia, one, north of the " Buffalo road " in the 

 valley of the Canadaway and in almost immediate contact with 

 the best known gas spring of this region; the other 15 to 20 rods 

 south of the road above named and in the same valley. A 

 woolen mill, in which home-made woolen cloth was manufactured 

 was afterward built, immediately north of the second grist mill, 

 by a man named Edward Howard. Mr Howard occupied for his 

 residence a house directly across the road from the mill. The 

 water well on his premises was unsatisfactory, being shallow in 

 depth and its supply failing in dry seasons. The tail race of 

 the grist mill passed directly under Howard's woolen mill, leav- 

 ing the shale floor uncovered and plainly in sight below the 

 mill floor. It occurred to Mr Howard to test the shale with refer- 

 ence to a better water supply for his dwelling, and he accordingly 

 began work with an iron bar a few feet long, that was kept 

 about the mill. After drilling into the shale beds a few feet, he 

 observed bubbles of gas escaping through the water. He farther 

 found that the gas was inflammable. Howard had a friend and 

 companion in the person of William Aaron Hart, a gunsmith of 



