PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 



490 



and to a great extent along the shore of the lake is fetid lime- 

 stone. — Sillimans journal, 17:398 



Gen. LaFayette on his second and final visit to the United 

 States in 1824-25, witnessed the unique spectacle of a, village 

 thus illuminated, and though not of a scientific turn, he could 

 not fail to note the great interest of the facts. One of the oldest 

 residents of Fredonia, Mr D. A. White, has given a circum- 

 stantial account of his visit, which was perhaps the most con- 

 spicuous event in the earl} 7 history of the village and of which, 

 as a lad, he was an eye-witness. 



The general had wintered in the southern states and coming 

 up the Mississippi and Ohio valleys had reached the boundary 

 between New York and Pennsylvania near Jamestown, early in 

 June 1825. He was brought from Mavville to Fredonia by 

 Judge William Feacock, the first agent of the Holland land co. 

 on June 3. Delays occurred in the journey and he did not reach 

 Fredonia till two o'clock Saturday morning, June 4. He was 

 en route for Dunkirk, where a United States sloop of war 

 awaited him to convey him to Buffalo. A great throng had 

 gathered to greet his arrival at Fredonia, including the military 

 company of the village, which was to march as a guard of honor 

 to Dunkirk. Refreshments were served, even at this untimely 

 hour, by the light of natural gas, and Gen. LaFayette must be 

 credited with this early experience in the use of a substance 

 which we commonly think of as a discovery of our own times. 



The well and its equipment changed hands after a little, pas- 

 sing into the possession of Jesse H. Starr, who followed the line 

 of policy already established in the utilization of the gas. He 

 seems, however, to have raised the price a light to a figure 

 more nearly commensurate with its real value. The charge be- 

 came $1.25 a quarter, or |4 a year, but the number of lights 

 was insignificant. Some authorities say that 30 lights were 

 supplied by the well, but others declare that the number did not 

 exceed 12, at most. From the account in Silliman's journal, 

 already quoted, it seems that the original price a light was $1.50 

 a year. 



Jesse H. Starr died in the course of a few years, and his prop- 

 erty, including the little gas plant, passed into the hands of his 

 legal heirs. It became the duty of a brother, Joseph Starr, to 



