Allen County, Ohio - Chapter 8: Economic Forces, 1906

Chapter 8: Economic Forces

The Soil of Allen County - Agricultural Resources - An Interesting Comparison of Comities in Northwestrn Ohio - The Climate of Allen County - The Streams - The Beautiful "Swinonia" - Springs - Botany - Archaeology - Zoology - Some Birds of Allen County - Geology - The Glacial Drift - The First Oil-Well in Allen County - The Second Oil-Well - The Trenton Scries - The Trenton Limestone } as a Source of Oil and Gas in Ohio - Strata Traversed by the Pioneer Well at Lima - The Oil Industry - Treasures of Monte Cristo - An Investment of $160,000, 000 - Effects of Oil Wealth - Production of Oil in the Lima Field - Wells Completed in the Ohio-Indiana Field in 1905 - Oil Companies of Lima.

On the north, Allen County is bounded by Putnam County, on the south by Auglaize County, on the east by Hancock and Hardin counties and on the west by Van Wert County. The entire county was originally a part of the old Black Swamp, for the most part of it is very level land, and has no great elevation. The altitude of Lima is 263 feet above Lake Erie, while that of Delphos is 188 feet above Lake Erie. According to Dr. Edward Orton, the late State geologist, the greatest elevation in the county is at a point near Westminster - 1,032 feet above tide-water.

The soil is a deep, black loam of almost inexhaustible fertility. In the vicinity of Lima the soil is not so rich, being largely composed of clay and sand.

The area of the county as originally designed in 1820 was 543 square miles, but portions of it were given over to neighboring counties, so that it has to-day 405 square miles.

The Pennsylvania and Erie railroad systems pass through the county from cast to west ; the Toledo, Detroit & Ironton and the Great Central (C. H. & D.), from north to south ; the Columbus & Lake Michigan northwest to southeast; a branch of the Cincinnati,. Hamilton & Dayton and the Toledo, St. Louis & Western, from north to south through the western part of the county ; the Lake Erie & Western, northeast to southwest, and the Northern Ohio, across the northern part of the county. Traction lines cross the county through the county seat in four directions. The railroad facilities of Lima are of such a magnitude that it is possible to take a train in any of 44 counties of the State, which will carry you directly into Lima without change of cars. Only two counties of the State have better railroad facilities than Allen. The means of transportation, railroads and highways, are fully discussed in other chapters. The entire county is underlaid with the Upper Silurian limestone of the Helderberg or water-lime group. Excellent cement is now made from this limestone, and it is the source of material for the roads of the county.

Agricultural Resources

A comparison of the counties of Northwestern Ohio, as to products of the field, will be of interest here. The following table, prepared from the report of the Department of Agriculture of Ohio for 1903-04, shows what staple products these counties produced in r9°3 :

And Representative Citizens County

The same report furnishes statistics as to the vast quantity of vegetables produced and sold, and shows that Allen County in 1903 produced 5,350 tons of clover hay, 465,905 pounds of butter and 609,139 dozen of eggs.

the most favored portion of the world, all things considered, is a zone, extending around the globe, only a few degrees in width north and south of the 40th parallel of north latitude. Within this zone the world's greatest events have transpired, and here have lived the largest number of the world's greatest men and women. Allen County is in this zone.

F. Y. Davis, a noted observer and a meteorologist, says: "Some years ago when I furnished data on meteorology for the government, I got reports on the weather from different parts of the country and found that Allen County compared most favorably with other parts of the continent, and the tables, which I send and which can be relied on as correct, show that, for an even temperature and a sufficient quantity of rain distributed through the 12 months of the year, Allen County is in a highly favored part of the country."

Mr. Davis has kindly furnished the following data, obtained from his records of 25 consecutive years, taken at his home near Lima. The table shows in degrees and tenths of degrees the average temperature in Allen County for each month of the 25 years ending December 31, 1905:

Sept

The total precipitation (rain and melted snow and hail) in Allen County for the 25 years ending December 31, 1905, was 84 feet 9F2 inches, divided among the 12 months as follows: January, 90.3 inches; February,

While this county is not noted for either the number or the great beauty of its streams, yet for historical purposes they cannot be omitted. The Auglaize River is one of the historical streams of Ohio. Its name is synonymous with the names of great Indian chiefs, bold fortifications, lasting victories and disastrous defeats. Along its sedgy banks marched the serried columns of Wayne and St. Clair ; through its dark ravines the dusky warriors of Tecumseh fought; on its bank one of the earliest forts in all Northwestern Ohio was erected - Fort Amanda - and there, too, was a shipyard and a national cemetery. The United States government began business at this point for here was the first postoffice. In the days of "Auld Lang Syne," the Auglaize was a navigable stream, capable of floating heavy laden flatboats, pirogues and scows, but in the present time it is greatly reduced in size, because of the very complete drainage of the country.

This stream has its source in Hardin County, flowing through the townships of Auglaize, Perry, Amanda and Marion, thence curving through the counties of Putnam, Paulding and Defiance, it enters the Maumee at Defiance. In the angle formed by the union of these two streams was located Fort Defiance.

The Ottawa River, which flows through Lima, has also an interesting history. The name is fully explained in another chapter, and the very interesting account of the pioneer poet whose ear for harmonious sounds was so noted is given below. The Ottawa River has its source in the "Great Marsh" of Hardin County and flows through the townships of Jackson, Bath, Ottawa, Shawnee, German and Sugar Creek, entering the Auglaize River in Paulding County.

There died at Findlay, May 12, 1856, at the age of 68 years, Andrew Coffinberry. He was born in Virginia and came to Mansfield. Ohio, about 1808. After the second war, with Great Britain, he studied law at Mansfield with John M. May. and then for nearly half a century he practiced in nearly all of the counties of Northwestern Ohio, beginning with their organization. He was, says Knapp, conspicuous among the old-time lawyers of the Maumee Valley, and beloved by his professional brethren and by all with whom he came in contact.

He obtained the sobriquet of "Good Count Coffinberry" by reason of his kindly nature, genteel address and extraordinary neatness of dress. When traversing the circuit from county seat to county seat, the journeys always being on horseback, he carried a considerable apparel. From his resemblance to the German count or baron Puffendorf, he was sometimes called "Count Puffendorf." Many comical stories are told of him.

In 1842 the Count came before the public in the role of a poet in a small volume printed by Wright & Legg at Columbus. It was entitled "The Forest Rangers: A Poetic Tale of the Western Wilderness in 1794, connected with and comprising the march and battle of General Wayne's army, and abounding with interesting incidents of fact and fiction, in seven cantos."

The main subject is the story of the capture, captivity and final rescue of the maiden Julia Gray and the wedded Nancy Gibbs. The poem gives personal narratives, dialogues, Indian speeches, drinking-songs of Wayne's soldiers, death-songs of savages, etc. It also describes natural scenery wherein Hog Creek for the ' purposes of euphony appears under the name "Swinonia," thus :

To make it true to nature the illiterate frontier characters speak their own vernacular in doggerel rhyme. For instance, Mrs. Nancy Gibbs, who states her "maiding name was Nancy Jarred," in describing her courtship by Gibbs, says :

The book stretches out for 200 pages, and in such a curious conglomeration of intensely realistic jingle, and, as a whole, is such a strange eccentric conception that any allusion to it in the presence of those acquainted with it seldom fails to bring a twinkle in their eyes. His old friends on the bench and at the bar, and they were a host, at the time of its appearance, now nearly half a century gone, enjoyed it hugely, for it brought the good Count and his oddities so vividly before them.

For the foregoing article on Count Coffinberry and the beautiful "Swinonia," we are indebted to the account found in Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio."

Most springs are fed by meteoric waters in the form of rain and snow, that percolate into the soil and accumulate at some depth in the strata. This accumulation is known as ground water, and its upper surface, which is called the water level, coincides more or less closely with the surface of the ground, receding from it, however, under the hill crests and approaching it closely under the valleys. When the side of a valley is steep, or its floor is much depressed, the ground water may come to the surface and escape as a spring.

Springs may also be formed by the percolating waters encountering an impervious layer of clay or cemented sand which retards their further descent, causing them to follow this dense stratum, until they emerge on some hill slope. Springs of this character are more or less dependent on rainfall. All water, in penetrating the soil and rocks, even if at no great depth, becomes more or less charged with dissolved mineral and organic matter, as by reason of its carbonic acid it possesses marked solvent powers. Spring waters therefore commonly contain various solid substances in solution, such as carbonate, sulphate or muriate of lime, salts of soda, potash, magnesia, and iron, or more rarely silica. When the quantity of dissolved solids is unusually large, the spring is termed a mineral spring, and is often utilized for medicinal purposes.

Underground waters may collect above an impervious stratum, which does not appear at the surface, and escape by slow percolation through the overlying strata, forming a marsh or swale. To such marshy tracts occurring in the arid regions of California, Arizona and Mexico, the name cienaga has been given.

Mineral Springs. - The springs of the county, some of which produce mineral water, are found chiefly in Bath, Shawnee, Richland and Marion townships. The water flows directly from the waterlime rock, which is charged with its current from the Niagara formation. On sections 7 and 8, Bath township, white sulphur springs are the rule rather than the exception ; while the artesian wells at Bluff ton, Lima and other points afford a good supply of water strongly impregnated with valuable chemical properties.

In almost any portion of the county water for domestic; purposes may be found at a depth of from 10 to 30 feet. In Spencer, Amanda, the southern portion of Marion and part of German and Sugar Creek townships, a good supply of excellent water is found on penetrating the bed-rock; while in the northern part of Marion township on the Van Wert ridge, water is found in the gravel above the modified drift. The drift in Ohio is very largely the source of well water, and of springs.

The famous old sulphur spring on the Lamison farm has long been noted in the annals of the county. Its destruction by the ruthless hand of commerce is referred to in the beautiful poem of C. W. Westbay in Chapter VI. The beautiful spring at the Children's Home in Shawnee township is a source of pleasure and comfort, not only to the children of the home but to many weary travelers, and the great flowing sulphur spring on the Spencerville road west of Lima is well worth a visit. These springs have great economic usefulness and enhance the value of the land upon which they are located.

Botany

All the trees and shrubs indigenous to Northwestern Ohio are found in Allen County in the highest state of botanical development. Among the leading trees, those named in the following list attain the limit of growth here : Beech, sugar maple, white oak, sycamore, shag-bark hickory, white ash, flowering dogwood, American elm, prickly ash, red oak, blue ash, June berry, thorn, swamp white oak, honey locust, water beech, black walnut, iron wood, black willow, mulberry, basswood, cottonwood, buckeye, burr oak, large-toothed aspen, plum, swamp maple, black ash, Kentucky coffee bean, black cherry, trembling aspen, sumach, black thorn, balm of Gilead, pin oak, pawpaw and a species of butternut.

Archaeology

It has been said that no portion of Ohio is without its souvenirs of that mysterious race called the Mound-Builders. In this county stone hammers, axes and chisels have been found. Flint spear-heads and stone figures have been unearthed, and many are of the finest quality.

In the excavations made in water-lime and Niagara conformations, prints of leaves and tracks of animals unknown to our present botanists and geologists have been discovered. Fossils are found in both hard clay and rock. Remains of the megalosaurus and lesser lizards, the megalonyx or great sloth, mastodon, dinotherium and other huge animals known to us only by their gigantic fossil remains, have been exhumed in various parts of the county. Traces of the Mound-Builders are found along the streams.

ing in Allen County in the early years of its settlement, were leveled by them in 1832-33, before their migration Westward, as noted in a previous chapter.

Zoology

This county, like others of Northwestern Ohio, was fully stocked with all the animals and reptiles of the Western wilderness. In 1831 the larger animals were numerous, as is evidenced by the fact that during that year a deer made its appearance in the streets of Lima. The elk was not an inhabitant at this time, though little doubt can exist of his stay here up to the close of the first quarter of this century.

The bear and panther were old residents of the district, and regular visitants for many years after the settlement of the county was begun. The wolf continued to make the county his home until about i860, so also was the red deer an old and friendly neighbor of the pioneers. The wild-hog roamed through the county as late as 1833. A hundred species of fur-bearing animals could be found in the primeval wilderness, a hundred species of beautiful birds in the forests, while the marsh and creek and river and forest and opening were inhabited by venomous reptiles. With the departure of the Indians, all the large animals as well as the most dangerous of the reptiles disappeared.

We may accept as true Professor Morse's estimate of the value of birds to the scientist; we need not question their importance in the economics of Nature, but we are still far from recognizing the possibilities of their influence upon our lives. An inherent love of birds is an undeniable psychological fact, which finds its most frequent expression in the general fondness for cage birds. If we can learn to regard the birds of the woods and fields with all the affections we lavish on our poor captives in their gilded homes, what an inexhaustible store of enjoyment is ours.

their human attributes. Man exhibits hardly a trait which he will not find reflected in the life of a bird. Love, hate; courage, fear; anger, pleasure; vanity, modesty; virtue, vice; constancy, fickleness; generosity, selfishness; wit, curiosity, memory, reason - we may find them all exhibited in the lives of birds. Birds have thus become symbolic of certain human characteristics, and the more common species are so interwoven in our art and literature that by name at least they are known to all of us. Shakespeare makes over 600 references to birds or bird-life. If we should rob Wordsworth's verses of their birds, how sadly mutilated what remained would be!

But why leave a knowledge of birds to poets and naturalists? Go yourself to the field and learn that birds do not exist solely in books, but are concrete, sentient beings, whose acquaintance may bring you more unalloyed happiness than the wealth of the Indies. John Burroughs understands this when he writes of the study of birds: "There is a fascination about it quite overpowering. It fits so well with other things - with fishing, hunting, farming, walking, camping out - with all that takes one to the fields and woods. One may go blackberrying and make some rare discovery; while driving his cow to pasture, hear a new song, or make a new observation. Secrets lurk on all sides. There is news iif every bush. What no man ever saw before may the next moment be revealed to you. What a new interest the woods have! How you long to explore every nook and corner of them."

Human friends may pass beyond our ken, but our list of acquaintances in the bird world increases to the end and shows no vacancies. The marsh the blackbirds loved may become the site of the factory, but no event on the calendar is more certain than that in due time and place we shall hear the tinkling chorus of the epauleted minstrels rising and falling on the crisp morning air.

But, long as the cock shall crow from household perch To rouse the dawn, soft gales shall speed thy wing, And thy erratic voice be faithful to the spring!

The woods of our youth may disappear, but the thrushes will always sing for us, and their voices, endeared by cherished associations, arouse echos of a hundred songs and awaken memories before which the years will vanish.

Whether your object be, to study birds as a scientist or simply as a lover of Nature, the first step is the same - you must learn to know them : with patience and practice the identification of birds is a comparatively easy matter, and in the end you will name them with surprising ease and certainty. There is generally more character in the flight of a bird than there is in the gait of a man. Both are frequently indescribable but perfectly diagnostic, and you learn to recognize bird friends as you do human ones - by experience.

If the people of dear old Allen would find themselves early some spring morning in a tree-dotted meadow with a reed-bordered pond or stream surrounded by woods, rolling uplands and orchards, they would in all probability see a great number of the below mentioned birds :

Zenaidura macroura {Linn.) ; Mourning Dove (Male). - Upper parts olive grayish brown ; forehead vinaceous, crown bluish slate color; sides of neck with metallic reflection, a small black mark below the ear, tail feathers like back, outer ones banded with black and broadly tipped with ashy white ; breast vinaceous; belly cream-buff. Length 11.85. Width 5.72.

Nest, a flat structure of small twigs rather loosely put together on lower branches of a tree, generally within 10 feet of the ground; rarely on the ground. Eggs, two or three have been found, white, 1.07 x .83.

Doves resemble wild pigeons, but are much smaller, and their rapid flight is accompanied by the whistling sound of the wings, while the flight of the wild pigeon is said to be noiseless.

Megascops asio (Linn.) ; Screech Owl (Rufous Phase). - Small size, about like a robin ; ear-tufts conspicuous, about an inch in length ; upper parts bright rufous, finely streaked with black; under parts white; toes rather scantily feathered ; eyes yellow. N

When night comes one may hear the screech owl's tremulous wailing whistle. It is a weird, melancholy call, welcomed only by those who love Nature's voice, whatever be the medium through which she speaks.

Ceryle alcyon {Linn.) ; Belted Kingfisher (Adult Male). - Upper parts bluish gray; wings with small white spots, most of the feathers tipped with white, tail feathers with numerous spots and broken bands of white ; a white spot before the eye; throat white, this color passing on to the sides of the neck and nearly meeting on the back of the neck ; a band across the breast, and the sides bluish gray. Length 13.02. Width 6.17. Bill 2.00.

The shores of wooded streams and pondsare the chosen haunts of the kingfisher. Silently he perches on some limb overhanging the water, ever on the alert for food or foe.

The kingfisher hunts after the manner of the fish hawk. In passing over the water it needs only the glint of a shining fin or scale just beneath the surface to catch his watchful eye. On quickly moving wings he hovers over the place, waiting only a fair chance to plungeon the unsuspecting fish below. Emerging from the water with his prey in his bill, he shakes the spray from his plumage, and, with an exultant rattle, flies away to some favorite perch.

Mclancrpcs crythroccphalus {Linn.) ; Red- Headed Woodpecker. - Head, neck, throat. and upper hreast deep red ; upper back, primaries, bases of the secondaries and wing-coverts, bluish black; rump and upper tail coverts.

In the immature bird, the red head and neck of the adult is replaced by mixed grayish brown and fuscous; lower breast and belly white, more or less streaked or spotted with fuscous. Length 9.75. Width 5.52.

Cyanocitta cristata { Linn .); Blue Jay. - Upper parts grayish blue; under parts dusky whitish, whiter on the throat and belly ; a black band passing across the back of the head down the sides of the neck and across the breast ; head crested ; exposed surface of the wings blue, the greater wing-coverts and secondaries barred with black and tipped with white; tail blue, all but the outer feathers barred with black, and all but the middle pair broadly tipped with white. Length 11.74. Width 5.14. Tail 5.19.

Nest, of rootlets, compactly interwoven, generally in a tree crotch. Eggs four to six, pale olive-green or brownish ashy, rather thickly marked with distinct or obscure spots of varying shades of cinnamori-brown, 1.10 x.85. _

Like many men the blue jay needs the inspiration of congenial company to bring out the social side of his disposition. Household duties may perhaps absorb him, but certain it is that when at home he is very different from the noisy fellow who, with equally noisy comrades, roams the woods in the fall.

The blue jay is both a mimic and a ventriloquist. Besides an inexhaustible stock of whistles and calls of his own, he imitates the notes of other species, notably those of several different hawks.

Cathartcs aura {Linn.) ; Turkey Vulture (Turkey Buzzard). - Recognition marks: Eagle size or less ; naked red head ; black plumage nearly uniform; soaring flight.

Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linn.) ; Bobolink. - Our June fields and meadows echo with the bobolink's "mad music" as on quivering wing he sings in ecstasy to his mate on her nest in the grasses below. What a wonderful song it is ! An inexpressible outburst ; a flood of melody from a heart overflowing with the joy of early summer.

Piranga crytliromclas ( Vieill. ); Scarlet Tanager (Male). - Bright scarlet, wings and tail black, under wing-coverts white. Nest, of fine twigs and weed stalks, seven to 20 feet up. Eggs, three to four, pale bluish white, with numerous rufous markings.

High among the tree tops of the cool green woods the tanager sings through the summer days. We are first guided tO' him by his call and song. They are peculiar, and both have a rare woodsy flavor.

Geology is one of the youngest of the sciences. It has not been studied a great number of years, but it is of very great value. In the early times, the clergy began a discussion of the rocks of the earth, and of the theory of the earth's formation. James Hutton, in 1785, sounded the first note of geology, when he said he saw "no traces of a beginning and no prospects of an end." This statement is now the foundation stone of the geological structure. It was based upon a thoughtful study and upon facts gathered from a wide range. Hutton's work was taken up by Smith, and made still more modern and forceful.

Sir Charles Lyell, who is sometimes called the founder of modern geology, gathered the results of former workers, added them to his own, and gave the world a splendid system, which he entitles "Principles of Geology." This work is still a classic. The wide interest in geological study caused the various governments to take up the subject, and the result in the United States is seen in the magnificent work of the United States Geological Survey, and of the survey of the various States which have followed.

The list of writers on geology now embraces such distinguished names as Agassiz, Darwin. Geikie, Lyell, Dana, La Conte, Tarr, Winchell, Prof. G. Frederick Wright and Dr. Edward Orton, the late distinguished State geologist of Ohio.

Black Swamp once extended over its entire surface. The soil of the county is made valuable by the deposits from this old swamp, as well as from its natural richness. The geology of the county, however, is far more noted from the fact that vast oil and gas deposits are found beneath its surface. These deposits have sent the name "Lima Oil" to all parts of the world, and to-day Lima is the center of the greatest oilproducing country in the world. These interests make a somewhat detailed account of the oil industry and the oil formation of the rock a necessity. We have tried to treat both fully and accurately. The accompanying design will show very clearly the structure of the earth as it is discovered by the drill. This design is intended to show in a graphic way the various strata through which the drill must pass, before it reaches the celebrated Trenton rock or oil sand, where the millions of barrels of valuable oil have been stored away by the Creator - all for the use of man.

The average depth of oil-wells in Indiana is 1,027 feet. The Trenton rock is drilled from 20 to 70 feet as the occasion demands, and it is in this porous rock that the gas. petroleum and salt water are found. The Niagara limestone, the first stone through which the drill passes on its downward course, is called the "drive." It sometimes reaches the enormous thickness of 450 feet, in which case it is almost impossible to penetrate it, and often causes great loss to the owner of the well. One oil man at Lima lost $3,000 in attempting to drill a well through the drive some

While Allen county produces no coal, nevertheless the oil and gas are coal products, and for that reason a brief statement of Ohio coal interests will be of value here.

"Coal is a hard, black, mineral substance which forms the chief fuel of the civilized nations. It consists mainly of carbon, with a proportion of bitumen, and is the product of decayed vegetable matter that flourished on the earth many years ago. Heat and pressure were the chief agents in the conversion of this dead matter, and according as these prevailed different classes of coal were formed. The two great divisions of coal are the anthracite and bituminous. Anthracite contains the most carbon - sometimes as high as 98 per cent., and the least bitumen or volatile matter. Hence it is difficult to ignite and burns without any flame, though it emits the greatest heat of any. In England and elsewhere this is called stone coal. The great anthracite coal-field of this country extends through much of Pennsylvania, Ohio and other States. The geological process that made anthracite produced graphite at a further stage.

"Bituminous coal is found in almost every State, and is the cheaper and ordinary fuel of the people. Coal is mined from the beds or strata in which it lies deep in the earth. The mining is an important industry, employing many thousands of men, and very hazardous to those employed in it. Their chief danger is from the gas, called "fire damp,'' which gathers into corners of the mines, and, when ignited accidentally, causes terrible explosions. To guard against this danger, miners work with a safety lamp, one in which the light is covered with a gauze wire, so that nothing comes in contact with it. Besides its use fo / fuel, coal yields numerous products of value. When it is burned in air-tight retorts, at a high heat, its volatile matter is drawn off in vapor, leaving coke behind. This coke has no impurities and is used for smelting metals and several industries. The vapor when cooled and purified, is our illuminating gas, the process of so cleansing it leaving a deposit of ammonia, water and tar. By distilling this tar, according to different methods, valuable oils are produced for lubrication and other purposes. Some of these oils are called benzoles, and are the source of aniline, from which many beautiful dyes of all shades of color are now produced, the blues and reds being the best known substitutes for indigo and cochineal. (Some 30 products of value are made from crude oil, at the Solar Oil Refinery in Lima.)

"Perfumes, soaps, inks, papers and many other articles of commerce are now colored by aniline, but its tints are not durable enough for fabrics of cost. Ammonia and its various compounds, so familiar for toilet use, are all derived from the ammonia water deposited with coal tar. Shale is the clay contiguous to coal beds, which has been subjected to the same pressure and absorbed some of their bitumen. When this is distilled at low temperature, parafifine oils are produced, used for making fine candles and as lamp oils. Jet is a hard, lustrous substance resembling coal, but capable of being carved and wrought upon like marble or ivory. It is found along the sea-shore in certain countries and is supposed to be the fossilized gum of the geological period. It is made into buttons and jewelers' ornaments of various kinds."

Economic Geology. - "A great number of geological products have economic value, and our industrial development of the present time is dependent upon these products. The investigation of these from the standpoint of their occurrence, origin and uses belongs to the economic geologist. Of the topics of economic geology, undoubtedly the most important is the soil. Its origin, distribution, variations in texture and chemical composition, and the means of bettering it and of properly utilizing it, are cjuestions of high importance. Building products - the buildingstones, cement materials, and clays - form a second important group; mineral fuels, including coal, natural gas and petroleum, a third group; and metallic products, including both the precious and baser metals, form a fourth group. Besides these, there are many lesser products - the precious stones, abrasive materials, salt, gypsum, fertilizers, etc. The number of industries dependent upon this varied list of geological products, and the vital relation of several of them to modern civilization, show the value of a thorough and scientific knowledge of the nature and cause of their occurrence. It is the importance of this economic aspect of geology that has led governments, both State and national, to support expensive geological surveys. For a scientific study of economic geology, other aspects of geology must also be considered; consequently the whole field of geology has profited from the need of study of the economic aspect."

The Glacial Drift

In Allen County, when the drill passes on its downward journey, usually the first 60 feet of earth through which it passes is known as the "drift." This varies in depth; in some places it is only three or four feet, while others it reaches more than 100. We are very much interested in this form of the geology of Allen County, for the drift is of very great value. It is found in both America and Europe, extending over northern latitudes. It consists of sand, gravel, stones and masses of rock hundreds of tons in weight. These have all been removed from their original resting places, some only a few miles, others hundreds of miles, by glacial action. This transported finer material is called drift, and the stones or rocks bozvlders. The region over which the transportation took place jin North America -embraced the whole surface from Labrador or New Foundland to the eastern part of Nebraska. It extended southward to the parallel of 40 degrees north latitude, and beyond this in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. In the latter State the southern limit of the drift reaches the Ohio River at Cincinnati, and through the center of the southeastern quarter of the State. Thus it will be seen that Allen County was in the very center of the glacial drift of Ohio. The direction of the glacial drift was generally to the southeastward, southward or southwestward. It covers mountains and hills in the drift regions, and makes also a large part of the formation in the valley. When deposited over the hills it is called unstratified drift. In the river valleys, where within the reach of the waters, it is stratified drift, because there the sands and gravel were deposited in flowing water, which spread it out in beds. In drift-covered regions, the excavation for cellars and houses are often made in stratified drift, and the sands usually show a succession of beds, which is evidence of the action of water.

Allen County is underlaid with stratified drift, and the real deposits of water-lime found all over the county have proved of great value in building stone and road material.

The economic value of the drift to the farmer is almost beyond calculation. The vast gravel beds are used all over Ohio for roadways, and for ballasting railroad tracks. Many of the best springs in the State, and the water of wells, comes from the deposit of sand, gravel and loam of the drift. Much of the best farming land in Allen, as well as in other counties, is largely composed of drift material. In some parts of the State, the farmers have gathered the bowlders from the fields, and with them have made a very enduring fence, or stone wall, thus accomplishing a double purpose - clearing the field and forming the fence. The whole question of glaciers is one of great moment in the study of geology. In the ice age, huge masses of ice moved southward, carrying with them the material from which the present drift is formed, until they reached the limit of the ice sheet, where the temperature was sufficient to melt the ice, and deposit the debris thus carried, far from its original resting place.

These moraines are seen very clearly marked in various parts of the counties, especially in the gravel beds of Allen and Putnam. The same process is going on at the present time, in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Caucasus and in various other parts of the world.

grounds of the Lima Straw Board Works, under the energetic direction of Benjamin C. Faurot, of Lima. 1 he contractors were Brownyear and Martin. 1 he well was put down for a double purpose. First, they needed a better quality of water and more of it for manufacturing purposes, and they hoped they might possibly get a supply of natural gas. Natural gas had been obtained a short time before this at Bowling Green and at Findlay, hence the operators were not without hope of obtaining the same supply of gas in Lima.

The well was located within the grounds of the paper mills, on the bank of the Ottawa River, the casing having an elevation of about -850 feet above tide-water. As the drill descended into the earth, it was apparent that the same materials were obtained, and the same kind of rock must be penetrated, as had already been discovered in the Findlay wells. The lower limestone was reached at a depth of 1,250 feet or about 400 feet below tide-water. They found a small amount of gas as they passed through the shale, but when the drill struck the famous Trenton limestone without releasing any more gas, the disappointment was plainly marked on the faces of all concerned. But instead of discovering gas in a quantity, there was a richer and far more valuable discovery, viz. : oil, at a point where the gas was looked for. The well having proved a failure as a source of gas, nothing was to be done but to utilize it as an oil-well. Therefore, a quantity of "rack-rock" was provided and the well was "shot." The results of the shooting were apparently satisfactory, and the well was immediately tubed, packed and pumped. During the first six days it yielded more than 200 barrels of oil, with some salt water. It was estimated as an 18-barrel well by the contractor, W. M. Martin. The oil was dark in color, low in gravity and very offensive in odor. To a Pennsylvania oil man, these characteristics seemed to condemn the new supply. This was the beginning. News of the discovery took wings and, like the discovery of gold in California in 1848, was soon heard of in every corner of the United States. Men came from all directions to obtain options, and to profit by the possibilities of the future. All the conditions were unusual; the surface of the country was flat, and what seemed stranger than all, the producing rock was limestone.

I. E. Dean was among the first of the strangers to visit Lima and examine this newly found oil field. He had had experience in Canada, and knew much of the history of oilwells and the value of oil. He organized the Trenton Rock Oil Company, which had a prominent place in the early development of the great Lima field.

The Second Oil-Well

Soon after it had been demonstrated that there was oil in the Trenton limestone, a number of public-spirited gentlemen formed an organization under the name of The Citizens' Gas Company. The object of this company was first to investigate the whole question and determine the actual facts as to the existence and production of oil, in and about Lima. The valuable work which this company did stands second only to that of the pioneer well. They put down immediately a second well, which is to be credited with yielding the first regular and persistent supply of petroleum from the Trenton limestone in Ohio, the pioneer well meeting with a series of misfortunes that left it useless.

These two wells were completed in the fall of 1885, and the second began its course as a 40 or 45-barrel pumping well. It showed, from the first, steadiness and reliability. In December, 1885, it yielded 1,450 barrels of oil, and in the first three months of 1886 it produced an average of 26 barrels per day. It was the oil of this well that was first sent to the refineries of the country to be tested on a large scale, and the results obtained from such examinations were believed to establish the fact that Lima oil could be thoroughly deodorized and made to yield a good percentage of illuminating oil of the finest character.

The Trenton Series

stages of the Ordovician system. The type localities of the rocks are in Central and Eastern New York, where the lowest stage, the Trenton, consists of a thinly bedded, dark gray to black limestone, while the Utica and Hudson stages are represented by carbonaceous shales. The same series of strata appears also on the northern shores of Lake Ontario in Canada, out-cropping as far west as Georgian Bay. In Ohio the Hudson stage is known as the Cincinnati shales and is of great thickness. The strata occur also in the Upper Mississippi Valley and in several of the Rocky Mountain States. The Trenton rock is the source of the great petroleum industry in the Lima field of Ohio-Indiana, and in addition yield valuable supplies of natural gas. The Salina limestone which is the equivalent of the Upper Trenton stage and outcrops in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, contains important deposits of lead and zinc ores.

The Trenton Limestone As A Source Of Oil And Gas In Ohio

The entire history of the discovery and exploitation of petroleum in this country has been full of surprises, both to the practical men engaged in the work and to the geologists who have studied the facts as they have been brought to light, but no previous chapter of the history has proved as strange and wellnigh incredible as the discovery and development which are now to be described.

No fact in this line could be more unexpected than that any notable supplies of petroleum or gas should be furnished by the Trenton/ limestone, which is widely known as a massive, compact and fossiliferous limestone of Lower Silurian age and of wide extent, constituting in fact one of the great foundations of the continent. But when required to believe that certain phases of this Trenton limestone make one of the great oil-rocks of our geological scale, one which produces from single wells 5,000 barrels of oil, or 15,000,000 cubic feet of inflammable gas in a day, it is hard to prevent our surprise from passing into incredulity.

In New York it is divided into two divisions, viz., the Trenton limestone proper and the Black River limestone. The lower portion of the latter is sometimes separated from the stratum under the name of the Birdseye limestone. The designation is derived from the occurrence of small crystalline points in the limestone. Both of these divisions belong to the true limestones as distinguished from magnesian limestone.

In Illinois and Wisconsin, there is, also, a two-fold division of the formation, but on a different basis from that adopted in the East. The divisions here recognized are called the Galena and the Trenton limestone. They are respectively, 250 and 100 feet thick in maximum measurements. The upper, or Galena, division is, in its best state, a light-colored blue or drab, coarse-grained, porous and almost pure dolomite. The underlying Trenton is, also, generally magnesian in composition, but it does not quite reach dolomitic proportions. It is also less pure in the main than the best phases of the Galena. (Geol. of Wis., Vol. 1.)

In Central Kentucky, again, a two-fold division of the Trenton is recognized, the two members being known as the Trenton and Birdseye divisions. The former is reported to be 175 feet in thickness, and the latter 130 feet. (Rocks of Central Kentucky, W. M. Kinney, Ky. Geol. Survey, 1882.) In composition, the Trenton of Kentucky is impure, and contains but a small percentage (five or ten) of carbonate of magnesia, so far as can be judged from the few analysis available.

In Ohio the Trenton limestone appears to agree in its divisions with those of Wisconsin on one side, and with those of Kentucky on the other. In other words it has a three-fold division when all the deposits of this age in the State with which we have become acquainted are taken into account.

In Southern Ohio, the Kentucky series appears in the well sections, consisting of the Trenton proper and the underlying Birdseye. In Northwestern Ohio, we find in the new oil and gas rock a stratum which is, so far as composition goes, the equivalent of the Galena do-

The position of the Galena limestone in the geological scale, it must be added, is not entirely settled. A question has, at least, been raised in regard to it. C. D. Walcott, of the United States Geological Survey, has urged the view that instead of belonging to the Trenton epoch, it is really the equivalent and representative of the Utica shale, no trace of which in its characteristic form is found in the Wisconsin section. The absence of the shale proper is, in fact, one of the strongest arguments brought forward for the new reference. If the oil-rock of Ohio represents the Galena dolomite, then the argument above-named loses its force, because over this formation there is found the full section of the Utica shale, normal in every particular. If it does not represent the Galena division, it still exhibits as marked a departure from the ordinary character of the Trenton limestone as the latter does and thus weakens the argument for separating the Galena.

A number of analyses of the several members of the Trenton group will be given, illustrative of the differences in composition that have been already referred to. The uppermost, or dolomite division, will be represented first :

The Lima oil-rock, like the Trenton throughout the Northwest generally, is a magnesian limestone, containing from 24 to 39 per cent, of carbonate of magnesia. The composition is shown in the following

There was no minute account kept of the strata traversed in the pioneer well at Lima, but, among the early wells of the town, the progress of one put down by the gas company, near the city gas-works, was fol-

The Oil Industry

The story of the oil industry in Lima and vicinity reads like the tale of Aladdin's lamp. The immensity of the business involved, and the unmeasured degree to which it has added to the wealth of two States, Ohio and Indiana, is a marvelous chapter.

When the first well was completed, May 9, 1885, by that once heroic figure in the financial world, Benjamin C. Faurot, people little dreamed that that was the beginning of "wealth beyond the dreams of avarice." In another part of this chapter will be found a very full history of the first oil-well, and an account of the famous Trenton rock, in which the precious oil is found. This oil is inferior in quality and richness to that which comes from the white sand territory of Pennsvlvania, but what it lacks in richness it more than makes up in quantity.

The people of Lima and surrounding country have become so accustomed to the added wealth from oil sources that they scarcely stop to calculate its real blessings. The benefits derived from this source are so many and varied, and the wealth so great that naturally thinks of the treasures of Monte -Cristo, bringing to the entire northwestern corner of our grand commonwealth all the of prosperity and affluence; enriching present and future generations with superior advantages of educational and social development, and transforming the oil fields into .the most prosperous and enlightened sections *of the State; giving it one of the most vital .commercial interests within her borders. Within almost a single decade this industry has developed until it has spread over a wide .scope of Ohio, embracing parts of Lucas, Sandusky, Wood, Wyandot, Seneca, Hancock, Allen, Auglaize, Mercer and Van Wert counties in Ohio, and over an equal number of Indiana counties.

To no citizen of Ohio should the importance of the Lima oil business appeal with more significance nor cause a greater source of pride than the Limaite. Within the corporation limits the industry had its start ; it has .always remained the business center of the entire field, and to-day stands as the hub around which the affairs of the Western oildom revolve, while our city's name designates the Trenton rock petroleum output wherever it goes.

Extracts From The Lima Tim Es-Democrat December 23, I9O5

Since the beginning of the industry there Lave been drilled in the Ohio-Indiana oil field approximately 60,000 oil-wells, not including thousands of gas- wells. At an average price per well, the total investment in drilling wells alone would probably run close to $70,000.- 000; added to this the cost of equipment, of rentals, of bonus, etc., it is safe to say that in the 20 years since the first well was drilled in Lima territory an investment of over $160.- 000,000 has been made in the producing end of it alone. Hundreds of our citizens have attained to wealth, thousands of our citizens are constantly employed, scores of our industries have been founded - all directly traceable to the oil industry. Nor is the industry one that preys upon another. It is one rather which creates new wealth ; it puts into circulation money which would never be seen in Lima, money which has quickened the entire commercial fabric of our commonwealth.

The effects of this flood of wealth are seen wherever we go and were most noticeable during the great panic when most sections of the United States were practically paralyzed, while Lima and the oil region around Lima went along as if nothing of the kind had occurred. Strikes are an unknown quantity in the oil business. Employees are paid highest wages. Everyone who has anything to do with the industry is well satisfied with it. Millions of dollars have been added to the tax duplicates of the oil regions which .fact has lessened the burden of the people and has brought forth other great benefits to our citizens.

Since the beginning of the oil industry in this section, Lima has been the headquarters or the "hub" of the industry. The effect of this easily seen when our industrial progress is compared with that of other cities in this territory, such as Findlay, Bowling Green, etc.

To the Standard Oil Company belongs a great deal of credit for this condition. The Standard, with its unfailing insight, foresaw that Lima would be the center of the business, that its location and later its great facilities would afford this great oil company greater convenience than any other city in the territory. Millions of dollars have been spent by the Standard in Lima, that would not have been spent had it not made this city its headquarters. Its offices are sought by scores of young men annually, many of whom find lucrative employment therein. Its refinery employs hundreds of men and distributes many thousands of dollars every month, while its general field work, which is directed from this city, places in circulation many additional thousands of dollars annually.

The deep pay field of Indiana has of late many operators to that section, but with all the great strikes in the deep-pay sand, the immediate Lima field of Northwestern Ohio continues steadily to produce new wells and to pay big returns on the investment.

As will be found in estimates further along in this article, Indiana completed during the past year 1,927 wells, while Ohio completed 1 ,5 74, giving Indiana the best of it by only 353 wells.

Production Of Oil, Lima Field, 1887-I905

This table shows that since 1887, or in 18 years, the total production of the Lima field has been 310,704,488 barrels, which at an average price of 60 cents per barrel would make the value of the oil produced in the Lima field $186,422,692.

Practically all this money has been reinvested in and around Lima. It has gone to build schoolhouses, pave streets, build the best roads in the State, build railroads, court houses, beautiful residences and public buildings and employ thousands of men who would not have come to Lima had it not been for the oil business. These figures are stupendous. They represent new wealth.

For years the Lima field has stood second to the Pennsylvania field in the production of high-grade oil. When the statistics are completed, it will be seen that Lima has held its own in the year 1905, being surpassed by the Pennsylvania field only in the production of high-grade oil.

The outlook for Lima oil is certainly bright at this time. According to available statistics, the net stocks of Eastern crude oil at present in custody of the Standard, including Kentucky and Tennessee oil, are but 2,999,902 barrels. According to the same statistics, the net stocks of Ohio and Indiana crude oil are but 12,972,779 barrels. Without additional production, therefore, the present stock of crude oil from the fields of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee would not be sufficient of themselves to meet the demands of consumption for four months as gauged by the estimate shown 'in the pipe line reports.

Furthermore the increased production in Texas, Louisiana, California and the fields of the Middle West (the first three of which do not enter into competition with high-grade oil) has not added so much to the stock that the present demands of consumption would not use them all in much less than a year if drawn on them alone.

During the year 1905, according to the best source of information available, the wells completed in Ohio and Indiana, together with the production thereof for the 12 months of the year, will be found to be about as follows :

Wells Completed Oil Companies Of Lima

The Solar Refining Company is the leading industrial enterprise of the city of Lima, and is a potent factor in the prosperity of the community, which it has done much to develop. The company was incorporated in December, 1886, with a capital of $500,000. The plant at that time occupied only a few acres of ground and several buildings, whereas to-day it comprises a ground area of 276 acres on the C. & E., L. E. & W. and C., H. & D. railways, utilizing 30 substantial brick buildings, with the most modern machinery and appliances and giving employment to 600 people. The company are refiners of oil, manufacturing all grades of illuminating oils and benzine, with by-products of paraffine wax and lubricating oils, which they ship to all parts of the country. The company also operate their own mechanical shops, where all construction and repair work is done, the firm building the oil tank-cars in which their goods are shipped. Oil for these big works is piped from every field in Ohio and Indiana. The local officers; are : W. A. Barstow, vice-president and general manager; J. G. Neubauer, assistant general manager; F. G. Borges, secretary and treasurer.

The Buckeye Pipe Line Company, by reason of its commanding position in the great oil field, is one of Lima's principal business institutions and is a potent factor in promoting the prosperity of the city. The company owns a handsome four-story brick building at No. 137 West North street, which it uses exclusively for office purposes. The executive staff of the company is composed of broad-gauged 1 business men, who are actively interested in the welfare of the community.

The Manhattan Oil Company. - The controlling interest in this enterprise is owned by the General Industrial Development Syndicate, of London, England. The officers are : F. T. Cuthbert, president; E. R. Curtin, vicepresident and general superintendent; Louis Platt, secretary. The general offices are located in Lima, and branch offices are maintained at Findlay, Bradner and Bowling Green, in Ohio; and at Montpelier, Warren and Muncie, Indiana. The company has over 600 miles of pipe lines, 24 pumping stations and nearly 200 storage tanks, each having a capacity of 35,000 barrels, in various parts of the Ohio-Indiana field.