34 ANNUAL REPORT 
were powerless to advance. The escaping gas seemed to make the earth 
tremble, and the roar could be heard several miles. When lighted the 
flame could be seen 40 miles away. The flow of gas was measured by 
Professor Robinson and found to be 12,000,000 cubic feet in 24 hours. It 
was the largest well that had been drilled up to that time in Ohio, and gave 
new character to the Findlay field.t The discovery of oil and gas in the 
Trenton limestone has now been reviewed. It will be in order to consider 
each separately from this time, and since gas was first discovered, and also 
first to make its presence felt, it will be given the place of priority in this 
volume. 
A RESUME OF THE HISTORY OF NATURAL GAS IN NORTH- 
WESTERN OHIO. — 
Drilling in Findlay continued and by the spring of 1888 the eighteenth 
well had been completed. None of the later ones, however, were large, 
the best not exceeding 2,500,000 cubic feet per day. From Findlay as a 
center drilling radiated in all directions, and it was not long until the limits 
of the gas producing belt had been determined. This extended north and 
south a distance of 25 miles and in a general way was limited by Findlay 
on the south and Bowling Green on the north. The richest territory in- 
cluded seven townships in Hancock county and six in Wood. It follows 
from what has been said that the producing territory did not form a line 
or ridge, but a broad belt in some places 15 miles or more in width. The 
wells secured outside of the corporation of Findlay were similar to those 
secured within; some were small, others large, a few gigantic. The 
Tippecanoe well was a good illustration of the latter type; it was located 
two miles north of the court house, and when the Trenton rock had been 
penetrated to a depth of 70 feet a good flow of gas was found. With the 
hope of increasing this the well was torpedoed, the result being the 
strongest flow of gas that had yet been secured in Ohio. Measurements 
made on the first three days of the well’s existence showed productions of 
32,000,000, 24,000,000 and 19,000,000 cubic feet respectively.2 It is 
_ interesting to report that the owners of this well offered to sell it to the 
Findlay municipal natural gas plant, but the trustees of this declined to 
purchase, and began drilling a well only 60 feet from the Tippecanoe. 
The result was a total failure, and shows the extreme capriciousness of the 
industry, even when in territory that is regarded most promising. The 
Van Buren was another famous well. It was located on section 12 of Allen 
township, and was completed in October, 1886, but was not tubed for a 
month later, when it flowed nearly 13,000,000 cubic feet through a four- 
inch pipe in 24 hours. Two additional giants were drilled in this town- 
ship; one known as the Hutson, on section 17, had an initial production 
1Geol. Sur. of Ohio, Vol. VI, pp. 129-130. 
2Ibid, First Ann. Rept., 1890, p. 117. 
