46 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
In Chautauqua county, the productive area comprises a belt bord- 
ering Lake Erie from Silver Creek southwest to the Pennsylvania 
state line. Until quite recently, the supply has been obtained from 
wells a few hundred feet deep in the Portage and Chemung beds 
and the individual output was small, sufficing for a few families 
at most. Deep drilling during the past few years has resulted in 
the discovery of more productive pools, lying at depths from 1900 
to 2300 feet in what is considered Medina sandstone. Some very 
large flows have been encountered in the vicinity of Silver Creek, 
Dunkirk, Forestville, Sheridan and Westfield. These wells are 
mainly owned by local companies who sell the output in the neigh- 
boring towns and villages. The principal operators include the 
Frost Gas Co., Silver Creek Gas and Improvement Co., South Shore 
Gas Co., and Welch Gas Co. During the past year, the United 
Natural Gas Co. has been engaged in exploration in the town of 
Arkwright east of Fredonia and is reported to have encountered 
gas in quantity at depths around 2100 feet. 
Erie county contains several fields. A few wells have ‘been put 
down within the limits of Buffalo. East Aurora, Collins, North 
Collins, Angola and Springville in the southern part are centers of 
a more or less active industry. Within the last fifteen years a 
field has been opened east of Buffalo in the towns of Cheektowaga, 
Amherst, Lancaster, Clarence, Alden and Newstead, which for some 
time has been the most productive in the State. The gas is found 
in the Medina sandstone at depths of from 1200 to 1600 feet, and 
the wells have proved quite persistent producers. It is transported 
in pipe lines to Buffalo, Tonawanda, Batavia, Lancaster, Depew, 
Honeoye Falls, and other towns in the vicinity. There are over 
200 productive wells in the field. E 
In Genesee county a prolific field has been developed at Pavilion 
during the last five years. The gas is found in the same horizon 
as in Erie county, at depths of about 1700 feet. The Pavilion 
Natural Gas Co. and the Alden-Batavia Natural Gas Co. are the 
chief operators in the field and supply the gas to Pavilion, Leroy 
and Batavia. 
In Wyoming county a few wells are in operation at Attica; in 
Livingston county at Caledonia, Avon and Lima; and in Ontario 
county in the towns of East Bloomfield and West Bloomfield. 
Further east in Onondaga county there are wells at Baldwinsville 
and Phoenix which supply gas for local use. The pools are found 
in the Trenton shales and limestone. Oswego county marks the 
