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THE FREE PRESS, LONDON. ONTARIO. SATURDAY. JUNE 11. 1949; Thedford, = NINTH SECTION--PAGE FIFTEEN Discovery of O\\ Below Surface Touched Off Lambton Stampede By Richard Goodwin WHAT DID ROBERT BRUCE and his 14th century spider have to do with the discovery of oil in Western Ontario? Nothing, except that his lesson in persistence must have had some influence with one James Shaw, and it was a good thing that it did. For without Mr. Shaw's persistence Canada's first oil boom might never have 'materialized. Although Shaw was not the first to play around with the oil fields to be, his was the first gusher. One of the first men interested in the so-called "gum beds" on the banks of the Black Creek, near where Oil Springs now stands, was a J. H. Williams, of Hamilton. Williams, about the year 1857, while sinking a well for water, came across liquid oil beneath the surface and his discovery touched off a stampede of speculators to Lambton. Speed came to the feet of the oil prospectors when they heard of the immense wells uncovered in Pennsylvania about the same time. A little oil was unearthed by these early drillings both at Oil Springs and Petrolia but the takings were so small that by the early 60's interest in the Lambton fields was on the wane. Then Shaw entered the picture. He, along with two other partners, was drilling for the black gold on Bear Creek, near Petrolia, in 1861. As the drilling went on and on and no oil appeared, the partners began to get fed up and the blame was put on Shaw's shoulders. The story goes that Shaw was a jinx and so the other two got rid of him, but by just what means is not recorded. Refused to Quit So Shaw went to work on a soggy acre of his own at Oil Springs with two helpers who later proved to be more than just employees. With the crude drilling methods of this day it was slow work and when Shaw got down to 65 feet, where Williams had struck oil, and still found nothing he was advised to quit. He refused. It wasn't long before his money ran out but so long as his credit was good the disciple of Bruce kept on. With the well going deeper and no sign of oil it wasn't long before his credit gave out but his helpers stood by him; when casing was needed, the two helpers did the buying themselves. But the time came when Shaw himself became discouraged and started to talk of quitting . . . well, in a day or two anyhow. But the work went on and they hit 158 feet after weeks of labor ... a depth which a modern drilling crew could attain in a matter of days. Patience paid off then and with a roar. A blast of gas blew the tools high in the air and was followed by a column of the black gold which spurted higher than the tree tops. The greatest gusher in the world of its time had just blown its top. Flows Unchecked But it is one thing to bring a well in and quite another to cap it, as Shaw soon discovered. He did not know how to control the well and for a week, at 3,000 barrels a day, it flowed unchecked. The liquid wealth filled a natural basin of several acres and streamed down Black Creek covering the whole of Lake St. Clair with a film of oil. One week and thousands of barrels later, an experienced oil man from Pennsylvania showed Shaw how to cap his well, but not without some difficulty. When the news spread thousands of speculators and oilmen poured into Oil Springs and the boom was on with a vengeance. Before August of 1862, 35 flowing wells were brought in. The finish of Shaw's story, which did not end in the traditional Hollywood manner, is worth recording. His well continued to pour forth its wealth for a time and Shaw was in "clover." At the end of four months of spewing up oil the well suddenly stopped flowing, but the sad part of the tale is that Shaw had refused an offer of $25,000 for his property a few weeks before. He died aty Petrolia in 1872, in poverty. Tries In Bothwel] The discovery of oil at Petrolia and Oil Springs started widespread drilling operations throughout Western Ontario. An American named Lick drilled several wells along the Thames, near the somnolent village of Bothwell. After "several failures, which wiped out his capital, Lick interested a number of local farmers in a new well which he proposed to drill on Lick's Ravine near the Kent-Middlesex County line. The farmers did not have any money but they had strong backs and it wasn't long before their efforts were successful. A well was struck which ushered in the spectacular Bothwell oil boom. The sleepy little village became an oil-mad town of 6,000 within a few months following Lick's discovery. Shacks and tents sprang up overnight and the town became a target for speculators and oil men from all over the continent. But the oil boom at Bothwell, perhaps the most hectic of them all, didn't last. After a year or so the speculative bubble burst. Crude, which had been selling as high as $iS a barrel, dropped to nothing. The Fenian Raids sent a lot of Americans scurrying for home. Meanwhile wells at Petrolia and Oil Springs were pouring out thousands of barrels daily. In fact the immense amount of crude oil gushing from the ground threatened to kill the young industry. The refineries of the day, most of them were situated in London, were too small to handle the volume of crude which the wells were pouring forth. They couldn't even supply barrels for storage. One of the early producers, a Colonel Parsons, sold 3,000 barrels of oil for $540, and was glad to get the money. A lot of producers couldn't sell at all. Wooden Tanks But if oil was cheap so was timber and it wasn't long before a vast number of wooden surface tanks had been built at Petrolia and filled to the brim with Town of Petrolia Population Over 3,000 -The Father of the Petroleum Industry -Centre of Fine Agricultural District -A Progressive and Industrially-Minded Council Best fishes London Free Press S.'SSV-SS of bringing^ and Good Luck. Petrolia Welcomes Industries And offers excellent facilities for all manufacturers. • LOW TAXATION • HYDRO POWER • NATURAL GAS EXCELLENT WATER Pumped from Lake Huron • BEST TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES PETROLIA - - - a good town fo live in - - - Four Schools -- Five Churches -- Modern Hospital -- Playgrounds -- Parks -- Public. Library -- Skating Rink -- Golf Club -- Two Hotels -- Movies -- Chartered Race Track, etc. For Further Information Write: H. w. MCLEAN, TOWN CLERK Discovery of oil in Lambton County touched off a boom which drew prospectors from hundreds of miles. Drills sprang up overnight and oil spewed forth from the ground, and, as long as it flowed, money poured into the pockets of the owners of the property. the unsaleable oil. The Petrolia operators thought that when the flow of crude slackened, as it had at Oil Springs by this time, the price of oil would come back; maybe not to $10 a barrel, but to a decent figure. Meanwhile Petrolia had grown to a community of 2,000, mostly Americans. The midsummer dry spell of 1867 was on and week followed week without rain. The timbers of the oil tanks absorbed the oil with which they were filled and the ground lapped • up the inevitable leakage. One night, late in July or early August, a drilling rig caught fire. The flames leapt to a near-by tank. The oilmen, realizing the danger, jumped to avert the almost certain disaster. Four pipes were run into the tank, low down, to draw off the oiL For a few uncertain moments it looked as though the men would succeed with their desperate job. But it was not to be. The staves caught fire and the tank blazed up, collapsed, and let loose a flood of burning oil. Blaze Grows Tank after tank caught fire and, with the collapse of each, the burning flood grew in volume. For two weeks the sky around Petrolia was lighted as the hopes and sweat and work of many went up with the flames and sooty, black smoke that covered the countryside. All gear connected with the oil drilling was utterly destroyed indeed the soil itself was charred to -. cinder 10 a depth of two feet or more. Operators gloomily surveyed the ruins of what was, up until that time, the greatest oil field in the world. But they soon discovered that below the surface the well were undamaged. They were cleaned out, refitted and one by one were brought back into use. Out of the holocaust one happy fact emerged. The problem of oversupply was no more. It had disappeared with the fire and once more the price of crude oil went up not as high as the flames, but high enough. Bothwell, too, had its fire. Just after the oil boom reached its height, the town was nearly wiped out with a fire which destroyed 70 iowntown buildings and did much other damage. Fire engines were rushed by railway flat cars from London and Chatham, and scanty water supplies were soon exhausted. One fireman was killed. The fire was said to have started in a haymow of a hotel. Bothwell Carries On Bothwell wells are still pumping and, although the crude does not pour forth in such spectacular quantities as it once did, it ia obviously a worthwhile amount. New wells are dug periodically, and while romantic boom days are gone, oil is still a big consideration in the Both-well district. Many wells, neglected during the depression years, have been cleared out and started pumping again. The field at Petrolia is now the most important of Ontario's shallow pools. Many were the frauds which were perpetrated in those first early days of Western Ontario's oil boom. Several of the wild-catting tests were sheer stock-selling fakes. The people of that time had no idea of how to search for oil ... such as studying geological formations . . . and so it was relatively simple for a speculator to interest the "suckers" with a plausible story. The oil fever, like the gold fever, is hard to resist. Hundreds of honest adventurers staked money against the hazard of the drill, and lost and hundreds of shrewd fakers staked their own sharp wits against other people's money and won. There are many stories of wells being "sweet-ended" or loaded. The speculator would drill a hole and sweeten it by pouring in a couple of barrels of crude oil, and then news of the "discovery" would be. allowed to slip out. Stocks would be sold and, before the fraud could be discovered, the speculator would disappear quicker than the oil in the fake well. Sometimes he was not as slippery as the crude in his well and he was forced to leave town before he had anticipated . . .and in a hurry. Manitoulin Hunt Of all the drilling for crude oil that was done in Western Ontario after the large discoveries at Oil Springs, Petrolia and Bothwell, perhaps the one that makes the best story is the oil hunting done on Manitoulin Island. It too underwent the excitement which most communities felt. The scenes which followed the discovery of oil on the island were reminiscent of the mad search for gold on the banks of the Sacramento or the similar attempts made to conquer the frozen north half a century later. Considerable money was spent by speculators and the people of the island benefited but little oil was found beneath the surface of the world's largest fresh water island. Studying the "Relations des Jesuites" compiled by the black-robed friars who had labored on Manitoulin for many years, a Montreal man thought that, reading between the lines, he could see that oil was waiting to be discovered on the island. The Indians were said to speak of a great spring which poured forth rock oil, a panacea for every ill. The Montreal man became convinced that there were huge oil springs just waiting to be unearthed and so a syndicate was formed to explore and drill at Wikwemikong, heart of the Indian settlement there. First, though, a conference was held with the Jesuit fathers in charge of the mission and the oilmen were told of two springs sivine off oil, one at Smith's Point, and the other to the west. Vision Easy Wealth The group returned in 1865 with the equipment and an experiment driller, John Ward, from Petrolia. Crude oil was then fetching the attractive price of $10 a barrel and the men had visions of quick and easy wealth. Three wells were sunk along the shore and the boat which had brought their equipment over was ordered back to obtain barrels. The boat returned from Montreal with the barrels all right, but there were no jubilant men to greet them. The oilers, so the story goes, had sought the friendship of the Indian women and the braves had threatened them. The speculators fled for their scalps. Nor did any of the promoters ever return. So ended the first oil rush on Manitoulin. Payoff of the story is that the shareholders were told there was not sufficient quantities of oil to make drilling worth while. Nothing was ever told of the redmen's anger! A second attempt was made by other groups, however, and wells were sunk at Wikwemikong and Manitowaning. Some oil was found but the drillers ran out of money and the effort was abandoned. The next try was made by a man from Toronto who, after considerable drilling at Pike Lake, found, himself sadder, wiser, without oil and $12,000 poorer. Senator Drills For a while the Indians were left in peace but a Senator Poir-er, from New Brunswick, became interested and spent two years investigating and studying the geological formations of the island. The third year he started drilling at Pike Lake. He got down to 500 feet and his efforts were rewarded by a gusher, which brought forth oil in some quantity. But winter was fast approaching and it was thought best to cap the well until next spring. The well had other ideas however, and during the winter it blew its top." News of the oil gushing all over the place was not long in leaking out and the rush was on. Soon the island became dotted with wells. Each well gave traces of oil and the first named poured it out in quite a substantial amount. But the discoveries did not find favor with the inhabitants. This fact was proven when a fire of undetermined origin destroyed all the oil equipment on the island. Thus ended Manitoulin's oil boom, but there still are people who are convinced that oil in considerable quantities lies awaiting the discoverer. Proof is offered by pointing to the similarity in the geological formation of Manitoulin Island and the Ohio oil field. Forest Built Model School FOREST was ushered into existence through the construction of the railroads. When the lines of steel were creeping through Lamb-ton County in 1859 they sought out a thickly wooded site which terminated the lines of three townships, Bosanquet, Warwick and Plympton. This place was designated as a 'station and named Forest. Even before this, however, the district was settled by George West and Robert Dire, who had been there since the "Forties." Both of these men were to play a later part in the administration of the settlement, West as reeve, and Dire as first postmaster. Good Location The geographical location of Forest favored its growth. In 1859, John Woodruff opened the first store, and Philip Smith opened a tavern at the same time. But the settlement grew slowly until after it was incorporated as a village in 1872. The population was then 750. From then on the village grew more rapidly. A model school was built in 1874 at a cost of $6,000. There were five teachers, with E. A. Ferguson as principal. In 1880 the population of Forest had risen to 1,800 and at that time more grain was shipped from Forest station than from any other station west of Stratford, and the prices there were the highest. An exhibition ground had been developed to promote agriculture, and the village maintained then as now two weekly newspapers, The Standard and The Free Press. The first of Forest's seven churches, the Episcopalian, was opened in 1861. In 1888, Forest was incorporated as a town, and still retains that status although the population has dropped to 1,700. Thedford Outgrew Older Neighbor SPRINGING UP IN 1859 as a "suburb" of the near-by village of Widder, Thedford soon outgrew the older settlement and became the commercial centre of a large farming district in Bosanquet Township. Thedford was the third village to inherit the mantle of leadership for the surrounding district. Earlier the first two stores in Bosanquet had been built about a mile south of the present village, at a community called Pine Hill. Pine Hill retained supremacy until the construction of the Grand Trunk speeded development in that section of the township. The post office was moved to Widder, and then moved to Thedford. Thedford's growth followed the passing of the tracks of the Grand Trunk. At first called Widder Station, the community was incorporated a village in 1877. About the same time a large crew of men and horses slashed through the sand hills and emptied Lake Burwell into Lake Huron at Port Franks. Within a short time the bottom of Lake Burwell was growing rich crops, giving new wealth to the district. Today these same reclaimed lands are largely used to grow celery, and from the Thedford celery beds produce is sent to all parts of Ontario. Thedford itself has grown steadily through the years and now enjoys a steady trade drawn from the rich surrounding farmlands. . Optimistic prospectors after oil pushed drills down under the Lambton soil in an effort to get rich quick. Many of these drills were crude wooden affairs compared to ths streamlined, modern structures which rear against the skyline today. & Arkona Records Lost in Disastrous Fire IN 1884 ARKONA WAS SWEPT by a disastrous fire which destroyed 21 buildings and many old and valuable records. Since that time man}^ dates have been approximate and much history traditional. The first settler was Asa Townsend. It is recorded that he was given an area of 390 acres in 1821 to develop salt deposits as payment for services in surveying the line between government land and property belonging to The Canada Company. This line was from the west corner of Lobo to Lake Huron, which now forms the town line between Warwick and Bosanquet in Lamb- ton County and Adelaide and the two Williams Townships in Middlesex County. It later became the main street of Arkona. Town-send gave up the idea of developing salt resources and settled down at Arkona as a farmer. He was joined in a few years by four or five more. Six General Stores In 1871, with nearly 1,000 population, Arkona was one of the largest villages within a 40-time there were 20 manufacturing concerns; four churches, four hotels, six general stores, two drug stores in addition to carriage works and harness makers' establishments. Today the population is static around 400 and only a cheese factory remains of the earlier industries, the majority of which succumbed to the march of time. A general belief at one time that the Grand Trunk would go through the village was a major cause for popularity and early settlement there. Two old buildings remain in the municipality: the present Brown Bros. Store is one building which was not burned in their "great fire"; and the present home of Jack Kernohan which is claimed to be the oldest and was once Knisely's tannery. Village Incorporated On June 10, 1876, the Village of Arkona was incorporated, the charter to become effective the reeve was William Vahey and his council: Robert Dunn, G. N. Eastman, A. Champion and Alex Dickinson. Sixteen years after Asa Town-send arrived Henry Utter started : the first industry--a grist mill, in 1887. In 1850 he opened the first store. His grandson still lives in the community. Other industries which followed included a foundry and agricultural implements works, a flax mill, a woolen mill, flour and grist mill, and in the 1900's a basket factory and a cheese factory. Baptists were the first to establish a church in the community and their first minister in 1836 was Niel Eastman. The congregation of the United Church dates their organization back to 1860, but records indicate they were a mission centre before that time. Anglicans organized in 1905 and a Gospel Hall was established about 1910. Three-Room School The first school was built about 1885 just west of E. T. Syerson'* barn and a Mr. Johnson was the first teacher. He had some 300 pupils and housed them in his three-room school. The present school succeeded the original and it averages about 50 students. There is no definite record of the date the first hotel was opened, but it is believed It was in In 1880 there were lour noceis, and it appears that Bob Dunn'a was the first. The community's first transportation contact with the outside world was a stage-coach to Thedford, 'and this was later expanded to take in Watford as well. Among the village's pioneer names those still to be found in the district are Utter, Ott, Mc-Pherson, Dickinson, but the descendants of Eastman and Smith are not there now. ... Congratulations m ON A JOB WELL DONE! I know that I bespeak for all my constituents, when I say Many Happy Returns to The London Free Press on its 100th Birthday. R. J. HENDERSON R. J. HENDERSON LAMBTON-KENT RE mighty proud of our bright spacious new quarters! The site of the new building was chosen because of its central location and accessibility. Every detail of construction was planned with a view to giving maximum service to our growing clientele . . . Pay us a visit sometime soon -- we're ready and waiting to serve you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LONDON FREE PRESS The Roofers Supply Co. Limited ASP'HALT STEEL SLATE TILE FELT PITCH 312-320 YORK ST. 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