STATE GEOLOGIST. 127 
ton county, where it follows the valley of Wolf creek almost continuously 
as far east as Brown’s Mills, and then bears off to the southeast for a dis- 
tance of 3 miles. The length of this strip is nearly 25 miles. Nowhere 
has it a width exceeding one mile, and in some places there is room for a 
single row only of wells. Notwithstanding the fact that it lies in three 
counties, it will, since it forms a continuous pool, be considered wholly 
in this place. | 
Discovery and Development.—The residents of the fertile valley of 
Federal creek just north of Joy recognized “surface indications” of oil 
from the time of settlement of the territory. An oily substance was 
sometimes seen floating on the water of the creek, and when a hole was 
dug in the valley oil would sometimes gather in it. It was not until 1860, 
however, that a well was sunk in search of the strange smelling substance 
which found its way to the surface. The pioneer well is said to have been 
drilled by S. S. Teller, of Franklin, Pa., on the Joshua Bishop, now the 
Boileau farm. At the depth of 65 feet an 8 barrel producer was secured. 
It produced about 20 years and then was abandoned. 
In the summer of 1860 a company was formed at Lancaster, Ohio, 
with a capital stock of $1,000,000.1 It bought the Joy (now Dale) farm 
of about 400 acres for a sum reported at $375,000, and in the winter of 
1860-61 began drilling directly across from the Boileau well, securing 
a 20 barrel producer. These wells caused great excitement, and the 
narrow valley was filled with speculators. The land was divided into 
small tracts, sometimes a quarter of an acre on which two or three wells 
might be drilled. These patches sold for extravagant amounts; thus for 
one-half an acre, on the Bishop farm, on which there was a ten barrel well, 
$10,000 were paid. 
During the summer of 1861 probably 25 wells were completed or being 
drilled in the field, and it is estimated by an operator who resided in the ter- 
ritory at that time that 50 men were working on the Boileau and 100 on the 
Joy farms. The valley was dotted with wells, most of which have 
been abandoned, and the very location of many forgotten. The dry holes 
and the wells which had ceased to be profitable were filled with sand 
hauled from the creek to prevent the water from reaching the oil rock, 
and this helped to obliterate many of the early locations. From what has 
been said it is apparent that the two tracts most prominent in the early 
development of the field were the Bishop and Joy farms, and the early 
history of the territory is simply the record of these two places. : 
The Bishop farm consisted of 325 acres, and in the early sixties sold 
for the munificent sum of $100,000. Doubtless when the speculative era 
was at its highest, and this property was divided into small lots, it com- 
manded a much larger figure. A number of the wells drilled during the 
civil war are still producing. Thus one located in the northwest corner of 
1These figures are reports. No records are obtainable. 
