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MONDAY MORNINGTKX TTTUSVnULK (PA.) HERALD)f‘UNCLE BILLY’ SMITH$900 DamagedsCeremony Set This Saturday forIn Crash atSilver Troweloved World’s First Oil Well DrillerRiceville Cor s.Joint Projectpartments intffordA family conference one evening 93 years ago at the home of William A. Smith, local town blacksmith in Tarenturn, Pa., was just about over. The decision the Smiths state highways were to reach that night was des-were Improved tined to affect virtually everyone ng worked on alive today.: construction This same Mr. Smith, who later i District En- became familiarly known to thou-ers of Prank- sands of oilmen in Pennsylvania as“Uncle 6111/’ Smith, was soon iproved during thereafter to become the driUer of33 'miles were 1 ™ world’s first successful oil well.id the rest by But, in spite of his great contrf-yays crews un- button t-o mankind, Uncle Buly Superintendent lies buried in an unmemoriaUzedgrave in a small cemetery at Han-. _ nahstown, Pa., near Tarentum, onhese improie- route 356 tbc sutler-Freeports of roads were hlKhwavle county. This ^ however, the ac~rejuvenatlon of compllsjiment£ 0f this famou*highways by a “blacksmith of Tarentum” are to be bituminous ma- jorrnaby recognized. In fitting trib-Fer the present ^ memory the oil Industry I bridges in the Pennsylvania wdll dedicate acted or repaired memorial shaft on his gravewith appropriate ceremonies on Oct. reconstruction 18, during the celebration of Oil s were the fol- Progress Week, rawford County: The talk over the supper tableig from 16 to 30 that night nearly a century ago at )ing 3.38 miles the Smith home In Salina, adjoining Tarentum, had to do with anward Mt. Hope.id—Widening to offer received a few hours previous-mg the old road ly by the head of the family to gogate and black- to Titusville, » hundred miles to project is 3.08 the north, to drill for oil.ins in Titusville. Drilling for Oil Unheard of completed in a The salt wells around Tarentumhad yielded a little oil along with Street in Titus- the brine which was evaporated to A hot mix bl- obtain salt. But drilling a well sole-; being laid. This \y for oil was an unheard of thing, be finished to- Edwjn l. Drake, a former railroad conductor from New Haven, n Titusville and conn., was in charge of the Titus-it .24 miles was vd|e project for the Senega. Oil l crushed aggre- Company. He bore the unsought :ktop surface re- and unearned title of “Colonel,” bene w Clover dale stowed by his backtrs through letters addressed to him at Titusville to Meadvllle on to heighten his prestige there.Drake had come to Titusville inThe kind of accident that the “safety Islands'* at Riceville Corners were designed to prevent happened again at that dangerous intersection last Friday, but noone was seriously hurt. Damage to the two cars involved, however, totaled about $900,^ according to state police from Corry.The islands were erected during the summer to warn drivers on Route 77 to stop before proceeding across Route 8. One of the stop signs in the island got smashed in Friday's accident, because the Route 77 driver, although stopping, immediately drove out in front of a car on Route 8.Going west on 77 was a car driven by John F. Westerhouse, 67, of Santa Ynez, Calif.Proceeding south on 8 came a car driven by Mrs, Helen Hepting, 41, of Wllklnsburg.Police said Westerhouse stopped at the intersection, but then drove into the path of the Hepting car. The impact sent the Westerhouse car into a guard rail while theThat silver trowel whl used for the cornerst ceremony for the new County Courthouse or is a joint project by 1 ville men, The Hera! yesterday.The trowel part was Frank D. Hill of the Trust Co., prize-wlnnin silver craftsman. T! handle is the creation Locke, local jeweler.Now away being eng ably for the occasion,will be oA display in t of the Locke jewerly W, Spring St., from I comes back until it Meadvllle for the cerJ. F. Meag!Wfll AdclrConfer en(James F. Meagher,Hepting machine spun around and smashed into a warning sign on .dent of St. Catharine' one of the islands. Titusville's Roman CcThe injured, all In the Hepting tery, will speak Wedn car, were: fifth annual meeting oMrs. Hepting, contusions of the ai Catholic Cemetery left ankle, right knee and left in Chicago, arm.The meeting will biHer daughter, Francine, 7, con- Edgewater Beach’ HeMeagher will give thefrom Tuesday throufThe Titusville man' be Basic BlueprlnIIWILUAM A. (UNCLE BILLY) SMITH1812-1890fusions of the forehead. ______^John M. Tomko, 69, Homestead, scheduled for Wednes contusion and abrasions of. the The conference will knees and forehead.Mrs. John Tomko, 59, sprained neck.Mrs. Robert MlUlken, 34, Pitts- cemeteries burgh, possible fracture of the right ribs and blood clot on theHer son, Ronald, 9, contusions Strltch, archbishop cof the lip and abrasions of the left Mr. Meagher has£ax*„ tendcnt of St. CatlTheir injuries were treated at the 1936, and in 1947 was Stem Memorial Hospital, Union ed secretary-treasure CityT he conference1 speaker will be Sanwidened from ISverlayed with a the spring of 1858 to act as agentfather refused the offer, Sam said,, , „ . . ,x because he simply couldn't quitlate Saturday afternoon, Aug. 7, c Jaggregate base for a group of New York and New rods at $1.50 each. The whole drill- was late Saturday aiiemoon, Aug. Drake;-inch bituminous Haven.men. They had leased along outfit, therefore, cost $76.50. 27*_^ Uncle Billy said Drake had toldthe late James R. superintendent fromSt. Catharine's wi as “one of the most, olic cemeteries in I an article In Amerject extend 1-09 Oil -reek some land on which oil Total weight of the tools was a reac^d a depth of 69 feet hit 'that if die Colonel had not magazine of Dec cm'... .__it, rnnrmri ^Yn-n ennnps for eerier- inn Thf»v Dected to na\ e to unil several nun . „ ju nrtinln onld tributeille and will be had seeped from springs for gener- little more than 100 pounds. They P^ted to have to sevem nun- t ^ he M article pald tributewinter. aliens. It was up to Drake to de- are now displayed in the Drake SSSSS he would have given up altogether management modeid other road in the count)1 one on about id earth roads to for winter.and efficient recor A bulletin of the 1oil well drillingProvidencetools, went to the small home near- naa raxen mure umn u. light hand He Cemetery Conl by which Uncle Billy had converted in the undertaking, because never years ago commeiresurfaced to im litions.had gone there in the summer « — now ^igh thousands of agata i^hat areaVor In any other, Catharine’s as foil1858 to observe the drilling meth- .„h f„H ririliW Mtft have »»» an old engme nouse, ana pre ^ ^ found ^ ^ shaUQW „st_ Catharlnc.sdepth as 69 feet. rightfully held upSee* Liquid Foaming £y November the well equip- modern cemetery rIdling about late Sunday after- ynent and tankage had been re- and management.said that 30 miles ^Pa ,„d 7o Vlre Tdrillen Ve‘had P°«nds and full drilling rigsi have pared /or Sunday and a day of rest, was oil found at such a shallow itegrated blacktop «£ Succe«ive% three ’’borers.” «*t as much as a million dollars p ........as the salt well drillers were known, each.but each one had tailed to keep his Early in May 1859, Uncle BillyImitspromise to go to Titusville. Drake ^ the tools ready and sent work nM«. Unde BiUy chanced to look buUt. Fletcher, the merchant cemetery. Its reco ^ ■*-*— into the hole. He saw a yellowish bad sent a wagonload of food and burials during itslearned later that they thought him ^ Drake, crazy- to.be planning to drill for oil After the longence, but it is e\Drivingp trek to Titusville li(*ui.d foamin a few feet below the household furnishings to the ______________and had agreed to come only as the nn’ Tinrie Billv and Sam derrick floor. Excitedly, he plugged g^hs right after the fire, and Meagher has adopSo Colonel Drake had ridden his , Watson’s Flats near the ^ nil the hou!’e- ^ agement In St. Chorse once again oyer the rough Mm on ou xhe mm After 0,0 f,rc’ 8mlU* “,d th' has «leHe elatedly called the family and well's pumping rate was better ment and thoughc rtf Titusville Star rnarK from Titusville and had ’R/«tgnn *nrt xxc v..w J wens yuiuyiujj tare ytivo ul.wu* mult U.1UUL muuftujuilty Saturday to reached Tarentum that spring day the oil rushed one of his sons Jo TitusviUe than its previous rate of 20 barrels best in design in ptoJ the” city'the of 1859 to seek out ’’Uncle BUly” ^^she^tothlSn^ Oil m- to teU Cololiel Drake. When Drake, a day. ^ well, all told, pro- sections, and to hand endeavor to. persuade «*** *Allen Love csted Friday nightBegins Work May 20, 1*59Uncle BUly, delighted at the sight won’t think we’re crazy now,.........- - A*-----4— they?”i was held under Smith ---- ----- - . . .f the county court him to tackle the job of sinking the P Jfirst oil well. ^... ..w Smith was familiar with thei Avenue after his methods used in drilling the wells, the trickle of oil from the spring,tilitv oole at the as well as implements used in fish- ^ to work# The date, he said longStreet and Cen- out any tools that might become afterwards, was May 20, 1859.eeles was driving *osfc hole.Perry, and in turn- Learns Trade Early _mtral Avenue, the Uncle Billy, bom at a place stalled an engine and six h°r^e~he utility pole on known as Hubb Run, Butler Coun- power Long John stationary tuou-omer of the inter- ty pa.( on February 5, 1812, had lar boiler, like those used on riverwho was dining at the American duced possibly 3.000 barrels of oil. just completed n Hotel, heard the news, he smiled During 1860, production dropped records/* and remarked softly, ‘'Well, they uncle Billy In April drilledThe cemetery wwU1 a second well near the first for gt Titus parish 1 Colonel Drake. Regarding this and Mrs joseph sBy Monday morning, the small Wen( the secretary of the Seneca Seep was one 0f t________f _ lumbering community was crackling oil Company received a report utlves 0f the StaiColonel brake during the preeed- with the excitement of the dlscov- saying, “Smith has struck a very president 0f theIng summer had obtained and in- ery. Men shouted as they met one {air show of oil excitement ’c h d of the :-- - ■ ' -r- '----- another, The Yankee has struck continues and the effect will chasing Agency.oil.” probably be that you will have a bonrd 0f the OilDrake and Smith obtained a second California In northwestern and a director oftional Bank of NeWmed his trade early. At 10 he steamboats, to provide power for length of pipe, which later came to Pennsylvania. ...... ...........board and rear -was apprenticed to a blacksmith in drilling. Men from the Upper Mill be known tubing put It In the Smith drilled a thirdI well honored by Popeeft side of the car Freeport, Pa., near Tarentum. He had helped raise a 30-foot high well and attached it to a common in the summer and It produced church work by aut Beeles drove on became a blacksmith and toolmaker, timber derrick from which the hand pump which w21co^^fd about 12 barrels a day. ^ ^ ^ Knight of St. Gre600-block on West as well as an able all-around me- drilling tools would hang. But no the waling beam. The^steam. en- ........—Drake’s account book for Febru-poUce made the chania He was 16 when he did his drMer had been Induced to come gtoo wa* ”,?W* mstead ary 1861 showed that he had ad-first work for the salt well drillers urake had housed the machtn- of drilling, it pumped oil vanced the wages of “W. A. Smithnei\ One Car2 Secondat Freeport. He operated a shop for ery and impatiently waited out the a time in Pittsburgh, but in 1850, winter.At Meadvllle: Mr. and Mrs.Mrs. Smith and Margaret loaned and Boyf from $2.50 a day to $3. ......their wash tubs and boiler as tem- in the spring of 1862, after threewhen he was 38. he came back to Drake had already put a crew porary receptacles for the oil, while years on Oil Creek, Smith decided rjgbt Jr. to Cojlocate at Salina, now known as of mcn ^ work digging and crib- Drake and Smith hurriedly rounded to return to his farm in Butler Jr pr0perty in 1Creighton, near Tarentum. Here he hi a well boie but water from up all the empty whisky barrels County which he had purchased tendented Saturday became well-known as a reliable nearby oli creek’ at a higher level th^y could find in Titusville and years before.yd Hefright of Cen- and skilled maker of drilling tools. than fche bottom 0f the well seeped nearby 2 smasked into a Nine years later, destmy In the ... ——a « MartNeither he nor Drake hitchedville.Mabel Bradleyin freely. Uncle BUly rigged up aiiv rigged up a Margaret ruefully remarked later, their careers to the rising star of imabfe to keep ‘‘Th« tubs were nsver much eood the oil industry. Drake had left in Second Ward’10 Keep ... . At Franklin:he swerved to fl.void form of the tsJl find dignified hut it wsts UAiauiV(, w _it on North Monroe Colonel Drake stepped, into his life. % th the incoming water. The washing clothes after . «\at. the o)I regIorl Jn 1663 wlth a capitalattractive cave-ins She .^called to_ her. grandchildren of $150lt;K) t0 |20i00lt;J earned M ai West Mato and Drake’s offer was an ^ater and subsequentStreets, police said. °ne. He would pay Hncle Billy !S2.50 created a sta]emate. Whawas turning west on qmith could make 0111 of the hraii: cudg=..u6 —-Place from North day more than Smith could make camg ^ idea that entltleswhen the accident ln ® PP- . . the team of Drake and Smith to aDlornn 4 «• fllO S^hause^LyyVnked°VarIntu^ permanent niche in the world hailence Pierce is thefirst silk dress, Wooden Tanks BuiltPerry J. Cook and Mrs. Arthur— ------- ~ -______ - E* J* Deeter t„Tpn a rrgipmuia vvua.i. ui uy that she soaked up some of the first justfCe Qf the peace and as an oil Wyant, property%1 the brato-cudgeling that °11 in a blank,et’ wrun8apa”ful buyer for a New York firm. He°Lf!e ‘ ad 11 ^r enough to buy her lo/t st a„ as a partner of B NewYork broker in oil stocks. HI and jn pjeasantvilledestitute, he was voted a $1,500 -—snsrs c.rre,c,s =’,.£ w —«They had tapis home at 217 N. and eJe ^heto friend Oil historians attribute the Idea pcnter, soon was hired to erect J®glsiacu1r?JIto vo to ti^ ‘‘back wcods ^Tthe7 to Drake. Smith. 20 years later, wooden tanks to hold the oil. Buy- November 8. 1880. it fender of Mr. Hef- ™ ™ * told a reporter he had advocated ers quickly appeared, among them Grandchildren Are Livingthe left, rear fender UT) hi- it from the start. The drilling Samuel Kier of Pittsburgh, who hadcar were damaged. He sSf 4^1. we’ll H. method they wera using undoubt- been for time in the^businessboundless oil Four years after Uncle Billy re- the Oil CreekmtncL ne saia, - wen, we u Liy n,a —r . nf rpfininc and marketine the oil turned to Ws Sutler County farm. They had evanyhow. Maybe well all make our oroducedniit^dtheabrinrgfrom the lost hls *}te. She had borne drilling techniqvrts Stowfortunes there.i»fore in China: the same methods producedhim seven children and experl- followed for decmere. - — —.....— T ^ y T^r^nhim TTfllJc Him ocvcu Jtiiu.It was agreed that his daughter. ^ ^th^Vc°sfvirinia saU welto One early to October, while enced the rigors of life on Oil They had shovrAfi^r loOO S in tne WcSO Vlginia 5aiL wciu. __ ^ Clrnelc v vfrom Page OneMargaret Smith, and her brother,Drake was in Erie Uncle Billy Ureefc. Subsequently, he was mar- crude oil in abu* i a.....i ^ ^ •- ^ r — — Ta i ~. .A. a. .. j • • • * t _ ■ % t i l a. 4 ’W15-year-old Samuel, would accom- But here was a dtotinctly new con detected a slowness to rled twice again, his second wife of light, heat, i-------- ----------- _ _ ......... would trihution. The ldea^ likenmost 8reat the vat was filling with oil. having died six weeks after the tion.Orden, New Jerse,t keep house untU her mother and one, was simple, wny not smx an Hg alighted lamp to go out to marriage. Five grandchildren of Throughout tand Anna Chester, the rest of the family and the ^on ,to_:_® the tank house to investigate. Ap- Uncle Billy are living in western of 1859, UncleWorker; Mrs. Kath- pany their father. MargaretMilitant Worker. household goods could be moved to the hole impervious to encroaching parentJy hlt;? forgot, or was unaware Pennsylvania todaystrong and skit races are for the Titusville. Sam was to help his fa- water and cavetas? The drill could Qf the jnnammable nature of the Uncle Billy visited Titusville Jn Colonel Drake i a rno rirlPO TUTV 1 . _ « maa y y_ aa . . tt . « * i _ _ _ liLt *P„ Kathnrin* « ^ ^k. Rep. Katharine St. Billy agreed to *'throw in the boy sjbiican, up for her : free: olL«barge- sections 10 feet long from Erie.Drake and Smith discussed meis opposed by Mrs.. . . gases produced with the oil. He 1880, when he was 68 and slightly Andrew SmithDrake hastily set-about procuring jUmped ^ escape the flames that deaf. He told a reporter for The *the driller of pipe. He obtained cast umjflpeta enveloped him. Titusville Herald that he rented successful wellHe recalled later, **A little streak out the farm when he could not for oil.aders, Democrat, for- tools needed for the drilling. It was a white oak battering ram jjgbt, like a flash of lightning, work it, due to illness. He recalled Men and woif the State Depart- decjded that Drake would furnish a hand-powered windlass tney to the oil, set everything In a the generosity of men of the Oil dustry of Pent.h* materials and Smith would 5£°ve th* .Pipc UIrza and in no time everythin*sine Americaerything was City Exchange who had raised grateful tribute, Mrs. John B. SulH- tnov- the tools In his own black- #Then* drilling with burned up. including the little house funds to help him avert eviction 18 when the)• a former represente- Stina- m.t for commenced to earnest. By that j ]lved |n- His family escaped with from his farm at a sheriffs sale shaft on hls ,representsuitog against Rep. Titusville, veil, Republican, and, Progressive.Thompson (R-Mich)trrnith chon before settin? out for IT —t/— —r” -i uvea in. xns lamuy *11.11 irom ms mrm a^ a sneruz s saie snair on ms l.lme ‘he summer had wom into only a few of their belongings, because of his many unpaid debts. Pape CemctcrAugust.Drill About 3 Feet a DayUnder UnclePounds Out ToolsSmith set to work to pound out opponents, a Demo- the tools. They consisted of a drill- guidance, the drill gouged deeper at ohibitlonist. The three ing stem—a solid cylinder of steel the rate of about three feet a day lean women lawmak- about* four feet long, to which was ranees Bolton, Ohio; screwed a drilling bit, shaped like encountering difficulties in the ad-Three hundred barrels of oil, the Uncle BUly died July 27, 1890, on about eight ml derrick, and the tanks were de- his farm at the venerable age of ler city lineBilly's sensitive stroyed. 78. He undoubtedly long before the Butter-FnDrake, returning next morning become fully cognizant of the is a long-desei c v*. oia/uv from Erie, heard enroute the news j*jeh legacy that he and Colonel ute to a greaMe^-hile°”'ctoloneP Drake was He^entto th^we?! '•Hellf Uncle Drake t°Kethcr’ although poor scntial oil todHardin. Indiana, and a large chisel. There was also a ministrative end of the enterprise, ite Church, Illinois, set of sinker bars and Jars, made so He had been to Titusville more than lrost, nef?~a T,.0 , ;.?;.,.osed by a Democratic that they could transmit a -jar ayear and stnil hadnottong_ sub- r/e^t y4 b^/black fms/th/t I T f-I F D Vi \T IDemocratic women reamer^ tem^t anj hole obstruc- stockholders back in New Haven. hsm^icd^wasUtS° Wack IViEi V A*ip. Maude Kee, West tions left by the drilling bit, and Drake finally, to ease his own fi- smith repuea it w as too rnacx;p. Vera Buchanan, an cye socket by which the string nancial situation, had to borrow . *; Rep. Edna Kelly, cf tools was suspended from a *50° *rom a Meadvllle bank on a bond 0V resnect and affection^id Rep. Reva Boscne, cable in a derrick. endorsed by two of the few in ^ ™ fTxrri. vi-»h in had grown between the two men.By this cable tool or percussion Titusville who still had faith in him, »■ later Drake wrotethl ab°ut Uncle Billy, ”1 was fortun-wnicn continue in use toaay, tne xr ate enousrh to secure the servicesYou Have Been Readingas a battle in her dls-a Republican man.the Past 10 DaysMEMORIAMowner. From New Haven, James M. ate enough■ of Harold L. Snyder, drilling bit alternately was raised Konirer who was the of W. A. Smith and I could notlifejne year ago to- ™^oppelt;i to^crush the_subter- fc^^MnSity^nong the stock- have suited myself better if IOur TimeROM. \lt;1951.rn€f^J°lk st™ftu«- P?fer holders, had mailed Drake a letter, could have bad a man made tofth? gat* th* enclosing a check, ordering him to order.qc rosdr nGct€Q to ncjivy ttoibtr W.TT r.*r,Yr toir return a t ^ tbe had to go alone, walking beam* The cable was con- Loyal to Colonel DrakeOur Town 2 chr.a light we cannot see nected to the walking beam. Hookedto the cable were the drilling tools.claimed His own.gate our loved one less and rest, comfort in the thought g God knows best.Uncle Billy was loyal to Drakehome.„ , „ „ , ,, , W Si ^«* ColonelAn entry made by Uncle Billy to Saturday late in August had struck in the highest . steem. Samuel, a memorandum book on May 14, the bonanza that was to rank in Smith’s son. remarked one* time 159, shows that the full set of importance far above the California that his father earlier that drilling tools cost Drake *46* Smith fold rush of tht same period. bad been offered $4 a day to takeSources differ on the date, but charge of a blacksmith shop inOur Hearts john/ s ,«4t BnytSr/kiJd mad* t»o «tr» boxes at ttJW,IT’S HERESee 1two «rtm pins at H »od !• w*it Mm bwt ialonmtA optntor. says Ita pemMMOt placa. HI*
Newspaper Details
Titusville Herald
Titusville, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Oct 13, 1952
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Carnegie L.
Pennsylvania, USA 13 May 2021
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