STATE GEOLOGIST. 107 
A show of gas was found in the Berea, but the drill was forced through 
goo feet of the underlying shales without better results. In October, 1886, 
a well was begun on the property of the Everett Glass Company. All went 
well until the drill had descended to a depth of 2,240 feet when a heavy — 
flow of brine was encountered and the driller, unwilling to provide so long 
a string of casing, abandoned the well. Several members of the company 
were not willing to give up, however, and a new driller was secured who 
resumed work, and at a depth of 2,385 feet found a small flow of gas. 
These tests, while not an unqualified success, proved the existence of a 
field, and this was enough to insure further exploration. 
The third well was soon begun. A flow of perhaps 300,000 cubic feet 
per day was secured, and this was at once piped to the works of the Ever- 
ett Glass Company. Other wells were drilled in rapid succession and by 
1889 the supply not only met the demands of the glass house, but was suf- 
ficently large to warrant piping the city. The wells, however, were all 
small, the largest probably not exceeding 1,000,000 cubic feet per day; 
so that the supply in the winter of 1889-90 was not equal to the demand.* 
This stimulated drilling, and during the ensuing 15 years about 24 wells, 
one-fourth of which were dry, were drilled in the vicinity of Newark. 
Later the company secured a strip of territory between Newark and Thurs- 
ton on which a number of producers were secured. At first it was thought 
that the supply would be equal to all demands, but that was soon found to 
be a mistake, and its use in factories was discouraged. In the fall of 1901 
only two of the wells were still producing, and these were very small. 
They were drilled in 1891. With the decrease in the local production the 
city was compelled to look elsewhere for a supply. This was obtained 
from the Sugar Grove field, the fuel being furnished by the Logan Natural 
Gas and Fuel Company. On August 19, 1902, The Peoples Natural and 
Artificial Gas Light and Fuel Company was granted the right to pipe the 
city. The company’s gas territory lies in the Homer field, and it is too 
early to say at the present time how much of a factor the new company 
will be in supplying Newark with fuel. 
THE THURSTON FIELD. 
The discovery of gas at Thurston resulted directly from that at Lan- 
caster and Newark. The place mentioned lies midway between the two 
cities just named, and it was a very natural thing for the driller to conclude 
that producing wells might be secured at such a place. The first well was 
drilled in the spring of 1888 on the Bush farm, near the railroad station, 
and made just enough gas to encourage the operator to make further ex- 
ploration. Later a well was drilled about one mile farther east, and it 
proved to be a large producer. It is reported by J. O. Johnson, Superin- 
1The foregoing account is merely an abstract from Dr. Orton’s Reports, Vol. 
VI, p. 370-1; First Ann. Rept. (1890, p. 237-240). 
