282 ANNUAL REPORT 
MEIGS COUNTY. 
The existence of oil and gas in this county was discovered in drilling 
for salt. Somewhere between 1830 and 1840 a well drilled for that pro- 
duct near the mouth of Leading creek in Rutland township, found some oil 
and gas. The first well in Meigs county that ever produced oil to any 
commercial extent was drilled about 1852 in Pomeroy near the line 
separating that city from Middleport. The well was drilled for salt, but 
at a depth somewhere between 200 and 400 feet oil was found. It flowed 
into a ravine and then into the river. Finally, lest the oil might set fire 
to the boats, a dam was built in the ravine. Nearly 100 barrels of this 
oil were shipped to St. Louis where it was sold as a liniment. 
Somewhere between 1855 and 1865 a well was drilled about 1% 
miles northwest from Rutland in Rutland township. At a depth of 830 
feet a dark lubricating oil was found. The surface of the well is re- 
ported at about 50 feet below the Pomeroy coal (No. 8) seam. The well 
is still producing but in quantities so small that the oil is not saved. Be- 
tween 1880 and 1885 a well was drilled a few yards from the last one on 
the Rightmire farm. Oil was found in small quantities at about the same 
depth as in the neighboring well, but drilling did not cease until a depth 
of 1,971 feet was reached. No valuable deposits were found. Later 
another well was drilled in the same vicinity by farmers. Without being 
shot, oil and water were thrown to the top of the derrick, but the operators 
quarreled and the well was abandoned. A short distance southwest of 
these wells another one was drilled about 1890 on the Savage farm along 
the border of Salem township. Oijl was found, but the operators ran out 
of funds and the well was abandoned. 
Near Minersville several wells were drilled for salt. At a depth of 
about 475 feet oil or gas was found. From one the oil flowed so freely 
that it ran into the river. The oil and gas were shut out by casing, how- 
ever, and the wells used for salt. 
In the early sixties Thomas fork, which lies about 114 miles back 
from Pomeroy, was a small oil field. Between 15 and 20 wells were 
drilled, some as deep as 300 feet, but the greater number were less than 
150 feet. Several hundred barrels of oil were shipped from the Highland 
well to Marietta. Drilling is still being done in this locality. 
In 1894 a well was drilled to a depth of 1,780 feet on the Carr farm 
along the eastern line of Salisbury township. Some gas and a small show 
of oil were found, but the well was abandoned. North of Enterprise, in 
the same township, a well was drilled for oil in the sixties. Considerable 
gas but no oil is said to have been found. 
About 1894 a well was drilled to a depth of 2,500 feet on the Devlin 
farm in Olive township. It made a showing of both oil and gas, but the 
well was abandoned. This territory is now (1900) leased by the Carter 
Oil Company. 
