STATE GEOLOGIST. 151 
“Tn the winter of 1860, Mr. John Newton, of Marietta, Ohio, was one 
day sitting in his office at the Harmar Bucket Factory, when his attention 
was called to a newspaper article on the subject of drilling wells for petro- 
leum in Canada. In this article natural gas springs were mentioned as 
indications of underlying deposits of oil. Mr. Newton read the article 
aloud. Among the listeners was Mr. Uriah S. Dye, one of the workmen at 
the factory. After the reading was finished, Mr. Dye informed Mr. New- 
ton that he had one of those gas springs on his farm at Cow Run, in Law- 
rence township; that the spring had been a source of curiosity for many 
years to the owners of the land, and that a crude attempt had been made 
to use the gas as fuel by a Mr. Guyton, who had a cooper shop near by. 
Mr. Newton was finally persuaded to go out with Mr. Dye and look at 
the spring. As a result of the investigation, a company was formed, 
composed of Jno. Newton, Douglas E. Newton, William Naylor, Moffatt 
Dye, and Geo. S. Bosworth. On the 2nd of Iebruary, 1861, leases were 
taken by the company from Uriah S. Dye, covering the W. 14 of N. W. 
qr. of section 19, and W. % of S. E. qr. of N. W. qr. of same section, in all 
100 acres; also from Samuel Dye the N. E. qr. of N. W. qr of section 10, 
40 acres. Drilling was commenced at once, the first well being located close 
to the gas-spring. The machinery then in vogue was the ‘spring-pole’ and 
‘treadle ;' the motive power, human muscle. In that day it was essential 
that the driller be both sound in wind and limb. The first Newton well 
was, however, soon kicked down to what was then supposed to be a suf- 
ficient depth, and ‘came in dry,’ barely showing enough oil to grease the 
tools. Instead of being discouraged, Mr. Newton seized a shovel and 
said, ‘Come, boys, Ill show you where to get an oil well.’ He went over 
to the Samuel Dye 40 acres, chose a spot on the main run where the gas 
could be seen bubbling up through a pool, and by night had a pit dug down 
to the gravel. In the morning the water in this pit was covered with 
oil. The ‘kicking process’ was speedily resumed, and at a depth of 137 feet 
their labors were rewarded by striking a ‘gusher.’ The well did not flow; 
it was pumped with a spring-pole, and each day’s product put into bar- 
rels—the pumping and filling of 50 barrels was about an average day’s 
work for two men. The oil was taken by wagon nine miles to Marietta, 
and sold chiefly to Mr. William Finley, buyer for a refinery located at 
Siz wos, Mos 
Below is another account written by Judge L. W. Chamberlain, of 
Marietta and published in the Oil News, July 29, 1809: | 
“On February 2, 1861, John Newton, William Naylor, Moffatt Dye, 
George S. Bosworth and Douglas E. Newton, all of the Marietta Bucket 
Factory, procured a 10 year lease from Uriah S. Dye, on his farm at Cow 
Run, and on February 4th, same year, they took a lease of Samuel Dye © 
(the second) on forty acres adjoining the above and proceeded on a wild 
cat venture to put down a well, the first in that locality. 
