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Articles
Butler County Oil: Boom or Bust?
by Nancy Evans
Pennsylvania is engaged in history. Here, the oil industry began with the 1859 Drake well in Titusville. Butler County burst on the scene in this new industry. As early as February 1860, the Butler Oil Company formed to drill for oil. History tells us how the industry grew with the ebb and flow of oil.
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What was this new industry's effect on the county's citizens? Let's look how things were for the people of Butler County and the surrounding area.
Economics
The oil strikes were a boon for many of the Butler County citizens. On his farm near Millerstown, John Kaylor brought in a well that would produce about 100 barrels a day. A lease on his farm was sold for $60,000 in 1877. That's roughly $1.8 million today! Undoubtedly, he was one of the lucky ones.
Making money on an oil well was a gamble. The more oil available, the lower the price per barrel. It could be hard to recoup an investment. In 1895, the Whitestown oil field, which had around six wells, was a small producer. The investment to begin the field was $35,000. The whole field only produced 50 barrels a day. Many other wells brought in as little as five barrels a day. It should be noted, however, that throughout the history of Butler's oil fields, small producers often led the country's total production. Some wells produced nothing but wind-- and not even much of that.
T.W. Phillips. Butler County Historical Society Collections.
If you are from Butler, you might be familiar with the T.W. Phillips Gas Company (before it was acquired by Peoples Gas. Getting his start during the oil boom, T.W. Phillips stood out from other oil companies. Usually, oil magnates cared only for profit. However, Phillips was different. In 1890, The Butler Citizen reported that Mr. Phillips was a friend of out-of-work oil employees during a shutdown in 1889. Mr. Phillips helped to distribute roughly $292,000 to help the employees.
Scams
Law & Anarchy
Of the boom towns, Pithole epitomized the Wild West. Although it is in Venango County, the stories demonstrate the greed and lawlessness in a boom town. Pithole lasted only from 1865 to 1866.
The start of Pithole's downfall came on February 24, 1866 when several houses caught fire. The fire spread and within a few hours, two whole streets of buildings were destroyed. In August of the same year, another fire started in the town and reduced two entire city blocks and 27 wells to ash.
Extorting money from hapless buyers was common. The conman would doctor the well to make it look like there was oil. The well would be connected to an oil pipe with storage containers nearby. Seeing is believing. The victim would see and smell the oil and fork over a considerable sum of money, only to find that he had been hoodwinked.
One enterprising woman sold her farm for three times its worth after seeding it by dumping a barrel of oil into the spring. To her chagrin, the farm was good territory for oil. She then harassed the new owners for cheating a lonely old woman. Today, it would be said that it was karma for her deceit.
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Ridiculous fractions of wells were sold for exuberant sums of money. Sixteenths and fractions of sixteenths were sold for anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000. These ludicrous sums were charged for wells that were dry, drilling, undrilled, or never to be drilled. Another naive speculator may pay $1,000 for a share in a well that netted him a quart of oil daily.
Court Case
The cases before the court could be fascinating. In 1906, The Butler Citizen reported two new legal suits: J.W. Emrick and J.A. Kelly vs. John S. Walker. Emrick and Kelly claimed that they were owed $572.85 for cleaning out an oil well in Bruin near the Walker place on November 7th and 8th. The settlement was an interesting one. Walker settled with the plaintiffs for $425. A coin was flipped to see who would be responsible for the $8 difference.
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Accidents
Fire was the most prevalent accident in the oil fields. In August 1879, a fire caused $32,000 in damages in Parker. Lightning struck a 20,000-barrel oil tank. Nearby oil-filled tanks and houses along the Allegheny River were also destroyed. ​​
In 1877, a fatal fire on the Michael Sheakley farm killed one man and seriously burned another. Gilmore Bartly and John C. Early were clearing the well when their tools became stuck and stopped production. They were trying to cut the rope when the well began to flow and they were covered in oil. Seeing a fire in the boiler house, Bartly and Early rushed to enter the building when there was terrific gas explosion. Early was lucky to have exited the building, but not without sustaining significant burns. Bartly, however, was knocked down by the explosion and devoured by the flames. He died in agony, leaving behind a wife and two children. The rig was totally destroyed.
The citizens of Butler County experienced many trials and tribulations. Despite the troubles, they survived and thrived. Today, Butler's gas industry ranks 7th overall in Pennsylvania gas production. In 2024, the county produced half a million barrels of oil from 1,147 wells.
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Butler citizens have been at the forefront of history and should be proud of their contributions to the oil and gas industry.
References
American Citizen. "Oil Notes." November 14, 1877.
Brown, Robert C. "History of Butler Co., PA", 1895.
Butler Citizen. "A Fatal Accident at Sheakley Farm." July 18, 1877.
Butler Citizen. "Another Fire." September 5, 1877.
Butler Citizen. "Cooperstown." March 24, 1898.
Butler Citizen. "Legal News New Suits." April 12, 1906.
Butler Citizen. "Legal Notes." November 19, 1906.
Butler Citizen. "Oil Notes." May 2, 1879,
Butler Citizen. "Parker Had a Fire." August 20, 1879.
Butler Citizen. "T.W. Phillips Honest Man." October 31, 1890.
"Butler County—Oil and Gas Production," November 11, 2024.
"Oil & Gas Activity in Butler County, PA," 2024.
Waterman, Watkins & Co. "1883 History of Butler County, PA," 1893.
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