LORAIN COUNTY. 221 



Kiver, their history would he similar to that of all those which have been 

 bored here and in the valleys of the Cuyahoga, Rocky River, and Vermil- 

 ion — that is, that oil would be obtained from them, but only in small 

 quantity. The reasons for this opinion have been given in full in Vol. I., 

 Part I., page 160, of this report, and I will only very briefly state them 

 here. While the geological formation is essentially the same in the val- 

 leys of Oil Creek, the Cuyahoga, and Black River, it is also true that the 

 strata are thinner, finer, and less disturbed in Ohio than in Pennsylvania. 

 Hence the supply of oil is less. There arc no beds of sandstone above 

 the oil-producing rock to act as reservoirs, but, instead, a compact mass 

 of fine impervious shale. In these circumstances, the quantity of oil to 

 be obtained might be expected to be small, and, as a matter of fact, all 

 the oil wells bored in Cuyahoga and Lorain have been failures. 



Gas Springs. — Like all the country lying over and near the outcrops of 

 the bituminous Cleveland and Huron shales, Lorain county abounds in gas 

 springs. Nearly every township has its "burning spring," and some of 

 them are of considerable magnitude. Of these I will enumerate a few. In 

 Avon township a " gas spring " may be seen in the Lake opposite the Sher- 

 man farm, half a mile west of the center road. Here a steady flow of gas 

 comes to the surface over an area of about one square rod. In fair 

 weather this keeps the water in agitation, as though it were boiling, and 

 it is said never to freeze in this spot in winter. The flow of gas is here 

 constant, and so copious that, if it could be utilized, it would be of great 

 value. Another similar spring has been noticed half a mile from the 

 land, opposite the farm of Mr. Henry Titus. In Brownhelm a group of 

 gas springs may be seen near the east bank of the Vermilion River, 

 just above the mouth of Chance Creek. In Columbia township a volu- 

 minous " gas spring," and perhaps the most remarkable in the county, 

 is situated in the Hickox mill-pond, near Olmsted Station. The gas 

 here sometimes throws up the water to the height of five or six feet, 

 and makes a noise which can be heard at the distance of several rods. 

 In Grafton there is a gas well on the farm of Mr. Truman Bogg, a 

 half mile east of the center. The oil wells all yield more or less gas, and 

 numerous gas springs are known in the township. In LaGrange there 

 is a gas spring on the farm of George Foster, one mile south of the center. 

 In Penfield Mr. Henry C. Luther, who lives two miles north-west of the 

 center, has a well from which the flow of gas is used to light his house. 

 The supply is much greater than is required for this purpose, and could 

 probably be made to do the cooking as well. The gas from this well has 

 been used since 1869, with no apparent diminution in quantity. In 

 Russia township numerous gas springs are known, and Lot Parsons, Esq., 



