![]() ![]() He spent five months trying to recover oil, and people had lost their trust in him and some began calling him "Crazy Drake." Even his primary driller, William"Uncle Billy" Smith, also began to feel dejected. "Colonel" Drake faced difficulties from the beginning, the known methods of drilling for oil at the time only ended in failure. Drake did his initial reconnaissance of the area in December 1857 and returned again in 1858 with the title of "Colonel." He took his family to Pennsylvania in hopes of finding an alternative to using whale oil for lamps. His previous job with a railroad provided him with a free railway pass that worked in his favor. Drake was hired due to the sheer coincidence that he was out of work and staying at the same hotel as the founders of the company. In the 1850's the excitement around oil and Titusville began to brew again and a group of chemists, lawyers, and others formed the first oil company in the United States, the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company of New York, later renamed Seneca Oil Company of Connecticut. The locals were astonished by the price of the "worthless land" where the oil constantly dirtied their shoes. McClintock's seepage caused great interest in the area one agent purchased 100 acres of land for $5,000. Investors consistently agreed on the importance of Titusville and its oil. In one season, he could capture as much as 20 to 30 barrels. ![]() One exception in Titusville was Hamilton McClintock, a farmer, who had the lower part of the creek on his property, where he would capture the oil seeping to the surface of the water. For example, Samuel Kier, an important Pennsylvania figure, had tried to set up a refining enterprise in Pittsburgh but was kicked out by people who feared an explosion. ![]() Before Drake, others used the then-known methods of drilling for oil, which only caused setbacks and never led to marketable quantities of oil. Prior to Drake striking black gold in Oil Creek near Titusville, other investors had tried profiting from the area, although none as successfully as Drake. Although much older, he was a loving husband who once wrote in a letter to her, "You know my love that I love you better than any and everything on Earth…" Drake was forced to retire from the railways shortly thereafter when he became ill with muscular neuralgia. In 1857, Drake married his second wife, Laura Dowd-16 years his junior. In 1849, he got a job with the New York and New Haven Railroad where he would spend the next eight years. During that time, in 1845, Edwin Drake fell in love with and married Philena Adams, who died during child birth. His family later moved to Vermont, which he left at age 19 and did odd jobs for 11 years. His innovative method of drilling for oil using an iron pipe not only caused a "black gold rush" but also placed him in the books of oil industry history.Įdwin Drake was born on Main Greenville, New York. His world-famous well was drilled in Titusville, PA, a small town in Crawford County. In 1959, Parke Dickey wrote in his article, "The First Oil Well," "No one is likely to question the fact that it was the Drake Well at Titusville which started the industry on its spectacular career…"Įdwin Drake was the first person to strike oil in America. ![]()
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