STATE GEOLOGIST. 5D 
WOOD COUNTY. 
This has the largest area of oil producing territory of any county in 
the state. It includes two extensive belts; one on the eastern, the other on 
the western side of the county, but in the southern part the two are con- 
nected by a narrow strip. The western area is the larger; in fact it is the 
most extensive pool that has been or ever will be found in Ohio. Continuing 
south it enters Hancock county, where it covers a large area. The eastern 
belt extends into Sandusky county and the northwestern corner of Seneca. 
Probably no other county in the state has had so many deep wells drilled 
in it as Wood. Almost every section has had at least one test made on it, 
and on some they may be counted by the score. This has demonstrated 
the parts that contain oil, and it may be that with higher prices for the 
crude product, territory which cannot now be regarded as productive may 
become of value; just as some territory, which was not regarded worth 
developing fifteen years ago, is now highly prized.. 
Next the several townships will be considered in detail, taking first 
those on the western side of the county, and later those on the eastern. 
Middleton Township.—The oil fields in this township form a strip 
from one-quarter to a mile in width, which runs nearly due north and 
south through “river tract sections” 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 and 51; and sections 
4, 15, Bi, QB, BS, AO, B7, Be, Bul awaal Bis. 
An effort was made in the summer of 1902 to extend the arm farther 
north in this township, but without success; a well on the “river tract” 
section 52 was dry, and the same is true of a well drilled about three 
miles farther north. 
In the eastern part of Middleton there is a small pool of oil, now 
nearly exhausted. Formerly it extended from the northern half of sec- 
tion 28 through 21 and 16, and then into Perrysburg township, where it 
crossed section 33. Now (1902) it consists of two parts; a small pool 
about one-quarter of a mile square in the northern part of section 28 and 
a larger one extending northward from near the center of section 21. 
The territory connecting these two spots was much less productive than 
the other parts, and this accounts for its comparatively early abandonment. 
The pool is commonly spoken of as the Dunbridge or Dowling, since it 
lies near these villages. 
Previous to 1890 very little drilling had been done in this township. 
Test wells sunk about that time in the vicinity of Haskins gave much 
promise, and consequently rapid progress was made in the development of 
the pool. Wells now (1902) rarely have a larger production than Io bar- 
rels per day, and the average is only a small fraction of that. Very few 
are being drilled, and while the number abandoned thus far is small, it 
will be large in the near future. . 
The Dowling pool was opened in 1894-5, and at first was regarded as 
very promising, though the oil was of poor quality. The number of wells 
