LORAIN COUNTY. Zak 
River, their history would be 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. L., 
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 willenumerateatew. 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, Hsq., 
