STATE GEOLOGIST. 141 
history of the tract in question will not be out of order. About 1860 Mr. 
Scott leased for oil purposes a part of his farm to John Henry, of the 
adjacent village, Morganville. The leaser drilled 3 wells, 2 of which 
were total failures, while the third produced about 2% barrels only per 
week. After this well had been producing approximately 2 years, Mr. 
Scott purchased it and in 1865 had it shot, with the hope of increasing 
the production, but the shot ruined the well, and it was abandoned. In 
1865 Mr. Scott again leased the tract under consideration, amounting to 
I5 acres, to the Chautauqua Petroleum Oil Company, of Chautauqua, 
New York, for which he was to receive one third of all the oil produced. 
Drilling was delayed until the company brought the necessary tools from 
New York, but 4 wells were completed that year, only one of which was 
a producer. This well, “The Chautauqua,” yielded from 40 to 50 barrels 
per day for months, and it is claimed that if the pump had been worked 
to its full capacity the well would have produced 100 barrels per day. By 
1869 the well had decreased to 6 or 7 barrels per day, and its owners, re- 
garding it no longer sufficiently profitable, sold it to Mr. Scott, owner of 
the land, and to his cousin Andrew Scott. The price paid for the well and 
all machinery was $1,100. The new owners of the well pumped it reg- 
ularly until the refinery, “The McConnelsville Carbon Oil Company,” 
went into bankruptcy in about 1873. Since that time it has been pumped 
irregularly and at present is a very small producer. The well is 118 feet 
deep. Water was found in the “fossil rock,’ which there lies about 30 
feet below the surface, but was shut from the oil rock by the “seed- 
bag,” which played so important a part in early oil development. The 
production of this well and market value of the oil from 1865 to 1873 was 
as follows: 
Barrels 
produced. Value. 
From August 15, 1865 to June 22, 1869...... 2,420 $23,442 
From June 22, 1869 to February 22, 1873.... 1,610 6,692 
Potala ces Stig | pentane 4,030 $30,134 
It is impossible to learn at this late date how many wells were drilled 
in this field during the time of greatest excitement, from 1861-65. From 
the best information obtainable, however, it appears that the valley of 
Buck run was dotted with wells as far up as and beyond Morganville, 
but that exploration did not extend into the adjacent valleys of Oliver run 
and Wolf creek. 
By 1866 the greatest excitement in the valley was past, and when 
the refinery at McConnellsville was discontinued a few years later the 
best market for the oil was destroyed, though some is said to have been 
shipped by boat later to Marietta. After 1875 there was very little done 
in the field for many years, and the prospects were that it would never 
again attract the attention of oil producers.. However, the Corning pipe- 
