Within a few short months, oil fields were springing up across the north-western Pennsylvania country-side and the Petroleum Industry was born.ĭrake's lack of business sense eventually overtook him. Drake had succeeded in drilling the first oil well. It produced between eight and ten barrels of crude oil per day, although some accounts claim as much as twenty. On August 27, 1859, Drake hit "pay dirt!" The well was only 69-1/2 feet deep, shallow by today's standards. View of the oil fields near Titusville, Pennsylvania As the shaft went deeper, the pipe was driven lower and lower. To prevent the sides of the shaft from collapsing, he drove iron pipes into the shaft and lowered the drill bit inside the pipe. He used an old steam engine to power the drilling rig. In the spring of 1859, he erected the derrick and started to drill for oil. He spent the better part of a year - from 1858 through the early part of 1859, raising the needed capital and procuring and building the equipment needed to drill. In March of 1858, the Seneca Oil Company was formed with Drake named as general agent. Drilling was successful in other ventures - fresh and saltwater wells - why not for oil? They then turned their efforts to drilling. Digging large pits demanded a lot of resources and were plagued by ground water and cave-ins. This method proved to be very costly and time consuming. Drake was dispatched to Pennsylvania in 1858 and got to work. The company entertained the idea of digging for oil. In 1857, the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company was searching for an alternative to whale oil, which was becoming scarce and quite expensive. A benefit of his railroad affiliation - free train travel - would eventually take him to Titusville, Pennsylvania.ĭrake Well, Titusville, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1859 From 1849 through 1857 he worked as a conductor on the New York & New Haven Railroad. After leaving the family farm at the age of 19, Drake held a variety of jobs across the midwest and eastern United States. Edwin Laurentine Drake was born in Greenville, Greene County, New York on March 29, 1819.
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