Bill's Aviation Log

"Oil -- known as “rock oil” at the time to distinguish it from vegetable oils and animal fats – bubbled up in springs or seeped into salt wells in the area around Oil Creek. A few barrels could be gathered by skimming it off the surface of springs and creeks or by wringing out rags that had been soaked in the oily waters.

George Bissell, a New York lawyer, and James Townsend, president of a bank in New Haven were the leaders of an investment group. They thought that rock oil could be exploited in far larger quantities and processed into a fluid that could be burned as an illuminant in lamps. They wanted to bring to market the inexpensive, high-quality illuminant that mid-nineteenth-century man so desperately needed.

The investor group engaged Yale Professor Benjamin Silliman to analyze the properties of the oil both as an illuminant and lubricant. Silliman’s study was nothing less than a “turning point in the establishment of the petroleum business”. The report said that rock oil could be distilled into several components, one of which was a very high-quality illuminating oil.

The enterprise became known as the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. The next step was proving that there was a sufficient and obtainable supply of rock oil to make for a substantial paying proposition.

Oil was not unfamiliar to mankind. By the time Bissell was launching his venture, the world knew how to refine oil into kerosene. An inexpensive lamp had been developed that burned kerosene. What was needed was a way to extract large amounts of oil from the earth cheaply. Skimming and digging for oil would not do it.

Salt “boring,” or drilling had been done in Europe since 1830. Salt wells were being drilled in the U.S. Brine from the salt well was evaporated into salt used to preserve food.

The essential insight of Bissell – and then of his fellow investors in the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company – was to adapt the salt-boring technique directly to oil. Instead of digging for rock oil, they would drill for it. Others had the same idea. But Bissell and his group had Silliman’s report and because of the report they had the capital.

The group chose Edwin L. Drake to run the project. They called him Colonel to impress people but he had never been in the military. Drake arrived in Titusville, a lumber town, population 125, in December of 1857.

The investors established a new company, the Seneca Oil Company, with Drake as its general agent. Drake had trouble getting a decent salt driller in 1858. But in the spring of 1859 Drake hired a blacksmith named William A. Smith – “Uncle Billy” Smith. Smith made tools for the salt water drillers so he knew how to drill. But the bore hole kept filling with water and the walls collapsed. Pumping the water out did not work. Drake came up with the idea of drilling inside an iron pipe pounded into the ground: the driving pipe. Unfortunately for him, he did not patent the idea.

The work was slow and by August 1859 the money was running out. But on August 27, 1859, at 69 feet, the drill dropped into a crevice and slid another six inches. The next day Uncle Billy came out to see the well. He peered down into the pipe. He saw dark fluid floating on top of the water. He drew up a sample. It was oil. Drake attached a common hand pump and pumped up the liquid. That same day Drake had received a letter directing him to close up shop.

All the other elements – refining, experience with kerosene, and the right kind of lamp – were in place when Drake proved, through drilling, the final requirement for a new industry, the availability of supply. And with that, man was suddenly given the ability to push back the night. Yet that was only the beginning. For Drake’s discovery would, in due course, bequeath mobility and power to the world’s population, play a central role in the rise and fall of nations and empires, and become a major element in the transformation of human society.

October 28, 2021 - Titusville, PA
The fastest route to Titusville was the Pennsylvania Turnpike but we decided to go via a route through an area we had never been before. We drove up to Harrisburg, then to State College, and then got on Interstate 80 west, the north up Interstate 79. This picture doesn't capture it, but the foliage was very pretty through much of our drive.

We actually stayed in Meadville, about 30 miles west of Titusville. We stayed at a B&B called Mayor Lord's House. It was a little different from the usual B&B. Breakfast was a voucher to some local breakfast establishments and we never did meet the inn keeper (self-checkin and out).

The next morning we drive to Titusville and the Drake Well Museum & Park. That's a train stop at left center.

And there it is! The Drake Well (in that dark wood building). The building, or well house, is a replica.

This is hallowed ground, where world history was made. It's right up there with Kitty Hawk where the Wright Brothers made the first flight, Sutter's Mill in Columna where John Marshall discovered gold in 1848, and Promontory Summit where the first transcontinental railroad was joined in 1869.

Lynnette checks out the world's first oil drilling rig. On August 27, Edwin Drake successfully drilled the first oil well along the banks of Oil Creek, outside of Titusville in Crawford County. Within a half year, over 500 wells were built along Oil Creek, in the 16-mile corridor from Titusville to the creek's mouth at the Allegheny River in Oil City.

From the great book "The Prize" by Daniel Yergin: "Oil -- known as “rock oil” at the time to distinguish it from vegetable oils and animal fats – bubbled up in springs or seeped into salt wells in the area around Oil Creek. A few barrels could be gathered by skimming it off the surface of springs and creeks or by wringing out rags that had been soaked in the oily waters. George Bissell, a New York lawyer, and James Townsend, president of a bank in New Haven were the leaders of an investment group. They thought that rock oil could be exploited in far larger quantities and processed into a fluid that could be burned as an illuminant in lamps. They wanted to bring to market the inexpensive, high-quality illuminant that mid-nineteenth-century man so desperately needed. The investor group engaged Yale Professor Benjamin Silliman to analyze the properties of the oil both as an illuminant and lubricant. Silliman’s study was nothing less than a “turning point in the establishment of the petroleum business”. The report said that rock oil could be distilled into several components, one of which was a very high-quality illuminating oil. The enterprise became known as the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. The next step was proving that there was a sufficient and obtainable supply of rock oil to make for a substantial paying proposition. Oil was not unfamiliar to mankind. By the time Bissell was launching his venture, the world knew how to refine oil into kerosene. An inexpensive lamp had been developed that burned kerosene. What was needed was a way to extract large amounts of oil from the earth cheaply. Skimming and digging for oil would not do it. Salt “boring,” or drilling had been done in Europe since 1830. Salt wells were being drilled in the U.S. Brine from the salt well was evaporated into salt used to preserve food. The essential insight of Bissell – and then of his fellow investors in the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company – was to adapt the salt-boring technique directly to oil. Instead of digging for rock oil, they would drill for it. Others had the same idea. But Bissell and his group had Silliman’s report and because of the report they had the capital. The group chose Edwin L. Drake to run the project. They called him Colonel to impress people but he had never been in the military. Drake arrived in Titusville, a lumber town, population 125, in December of 1857. The investors established a new company, the Seneca Oil Company, with Drake as its general agent. Drake had trouble getting a decent salt driller in 1858. But in the spring of 1859 Drake hired a blacksmith named William A. Smith – “Uncle Billy” Smith. Smith made tools for the salt water drillers so he knew how to drill. But the bore hole kept filling with water and the walls collapsed. Pumping the water out did not work. Drake came up with the idea of drilling inside an iron pipe pounded into the ground: the driving pipe. Unfortunately for him, he did not patent the idea. The work was slow and by August 1859 the money was running out. But on August 27, 1859, at 69 feet, the drill dropped into a crevice and slid another six inches. The next day Uncle Billy came out to see the well. He peered down into the pipe. He saw dark fluid floating on top of the water. He drew up a sample. It was oil. Drake attached a common hand pump and pumped up the liquid. That same day Drake had received a letter directing him to close up shop. All the other elements – refining, experience with kerosene, and the right kind of lamp – were in place when Drake proved, through drilling, the final requirement for a new industry, the availability of supply. And with that, man was suddenly given the ability to push back the night. Yet that was only the beginning. For Drake’s discovery would, in due course, bequeath mobility and power to the world’s population, play a central role in the rise and fall of nations and empires, and become a major element in the transformation of human society. But all that, of course, was still to come. What followed immediately was like a gold rush." Bissell did become very wealthy from the oil business. Drake and Uncle Billy did not. The Drake Well pump was powered by a simple steam engine (at right).



Looking back at the entrance building to the left and the Drake Well House on the right. There is a gift store in the entrance building.

Approaching the Drake Oil Museum. Our understanding of oil and the history of the oil industry was about to be improved 1,000%.

The man, Edwin Drake. Sadly, he never profited from his ground-breaking work. He was just an employee of the Seneca Oil Company. His major contribution to the oil industry was drilling within a pipe driven down to bedrock to prevent ground water contamination and cave-ins. Unfortunately for him, he did not patent the process which is still in use. By 1866, Drake was broke, then became a semi-invalid, racked with pain, living in poverty. In 1873 the State of Pennsylvania granted him a small lifetime pension for his service, bringing him some measure of relief in his final years.

The view as you enter the museum.

A model showing how multiple oil pump rigs were powered by a single steam engine.

You can listen to a fascinating discussion between talking portraits of John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil and Ida M. Tarbell, the journalist whose reporting greatly contributed to the breaking up of the Standard Oil Company.

An interesting diagram showing how the current oil companies came to be.

A display showing how oil is refined into the incredible amount of products everyone benefits from today: gasoline, diesel fuel, plastics, chemicals, propane, surfacing material, fuel oil, kerosene (jet fuel), lubricants, etc.

Pipelines are policitized today but they really are the best way to transport oil. In the early days they were much, much more efficient and inexpensive than using horse-drawn carts to transport wooden barrels of oil.

Walking the grounds of the Drake Well part. That is Oil Creek in the background where oil used to seep up.

The oil pumped from this early oil rig is dumped into a wooden tank. Storage of oil was a big problem in the early days. An entire industry of wooden barrel making arose to meet the storage demand. Today, 55 gallon steel drums are used.

Newer varieties of an oil drilling rig and pumpers.

Old truck.

This truck was specifically used to transport highly volatile nitroglycerine explosive.

In the earliest days, sometimes they had to use a "spring pole" like this along with human power to drill the well.

One last look at the Drake Well and Oil Museum.

Take a ride on the Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad! The 3-hour round trip starts and ends in Titusville and takes you through the scenic Oil Creek State Park. Unfortunately, the railroad closed for the season a week ago. Which is kind of surprising since the weather is good this week and the leaves are at peak. A lady in the museum said it was because normally the leave peak two weeks earlier than today; they are unusually late this year.

You can stay the night across the street from the OCTRR in the Caboose Motel. Each of the 21 caboose cars has its own heat & air conditioning unit, television, telephone and bathroom with shower.


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October 28, 2021 - Titusville, PA