The FIRST OIL WELL

Beginning of an industry that created the modern world

When Edwin Drake drilled the world's first oil well in Pennsylvania, he had not discovered oil. Oil was in use for many things, and oil refineries were already in operation. What Drake did was create an efficient way of getting to the "black gold".

When the value of oil found in northwest Pennsylvania was discovered, the world's first petroleum company was formed - the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co., in 1854. Then the Seneca Oil Co. was formed and hired Edwin Drake to find a new way of getting large quantities of it to the surface. He moved to Titusville, PA, to begin this process.

"Col." Drake tried many times and used up most his money on digging into the ground, only to have the holes cave in and bury his progress. He finally had an idea, and went to Tarentum, PA, to persuade William "Uncle Billy" Smith to try his hand. This would be different, because Uncle Billy was a salt well driller. The idea was to drill a hole into the ground inside of a cast iron pipe to keep the ground stable and the hole open. As the hole got deeper, they would add another pipe at the top and pound it in.

On the morning of August 28 when Uncle Billy went out to check on the well, he was astonished to discover oil coming out of the well. The news quickly spread, and other people rushed to the area to try their hand at drilling for oil. The whole area was filled with oil wells and boom towns, and the production of oil grew rapidly. For over 40 years this area was the center of the oil industry, declining only when new oil fields were discovered in the midwest. Even though most of the oil has been taken from the area, some is still produced, and few places can exceed its quality.