April 23, 2008
It's hard to believe that many quiet streets and fields in Ohio were once part of the oil towns that played a significant role in the state’s economic development. In Ohio Oil and Gas, petroleum geologist Jeff A. Spencer and geology professor Mark J. Camp discuss this unique part of Ohio’s past, including what may have been the first discovery of oil made from a salt brine well in southeastern Ohio. To bring scenes like this alive, Spencer and Camp compiled hundreds of photographs and descriptions (some acquired from the Ohio Geological Survey) of more than 100 years worth of Ohio’s oil and gas history. They hope the information in the book will inspire readers to save and share historical data. Ohio Oil and Gas is available for $19.99 plus sales tax (and shipping, if applicable) from the ODNR Geologic Records Center by calling (614) 265-6576 or emailing geo.survey@dnr.state.oh.us.
From the publisher: Forty-five years before the drilling of the famous 1859 Colonel Drake oil well in Pennsylvania, oil was produced and marketed from salt brine wells dug in southeast Ohio. The oil was bottled and sold as a cure-all medicine, Seneca Oil. In 1860, one of the first oil fields in Ohio was discovered approximately 10 miles southeast of these wells. The 1885 discovery of the giant Lima-Indiana oil field set off the oil boom of northwest Ohio, a period of land speculation and rapid oil field development that lasted over 20 years and propelled Ohio into the leading oil-producing state from 1895 to 1903. John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil of Cleveland built storage tanks, pipelines, and a refinery near Lima. The Ohio Oil Company, now Marathon Oil, was active in the area and still maintains an office in Findlay. The Bremen oil field was discovered in south-central Ohio in 1907, setting off another oil boom, which included drilling within the city limits.
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For further information contact:
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Division of Geological Survey
2045 Morse Rd., Columbus, OH 43229-6693
Phone: (614) 265-6576
Email: geo.survey@dnr.state.oh.us
Web: www.dnr.state.oh.us/geosurvey
Geologic Records Center hours:
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. EST
After May 19, 2008, Geologic Records Center hours will change to
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.; 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. EST
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