Barnsdall Main Street Well Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Barnsdall Main Street Well Site
|
|
Oil Well in middle of Main Street, Barnsdall, Oklahoma. April 11, 2007
|
|
| Location | Barnsdall, Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Built | 1914 |
| MPS | Energy-Related Properties in Northeastern Oklahoma MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001153 |
| Added to NRHP | October 1, 1997 |
The Barnsdall Main Street Well is a really unique old oil well located right in the middle of Main Street in Barnsdall, Oklahoma. It's believed to be the only oil well in the world found on a main street! This special well was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on October 1, 1997. It was finished on March 18, 1914, and drilled 1,771 feet deep. It kept producing oil until the 1960s.
Contents
What is the Barnsdall Main Street Well?
The Barnsdall Main Street Well is located on Main Street, about 28 feet (8.5 meters) west of 8th Street. It's the only historic oil well in the Barnsdall area that people can easily visit. When it was producing the most oil, this well could make 8 to 10 barrels of oil every day!
The Pumping Unit
The pumping unit you see there today isn't the original one. The first pump was replaced sometime after 1962. The newer unit is still in good shape, even though it doesn't pump oil anymore. It has an electric motor, gears, and other parts. A 4-foot (1.2-meter) tall chain-link fence surrounds the unit. This fence keeps people from getting too close to the pump.
Why is it still important?
Even though the pump and fence aren't the original parts, the well is still considered very important. This is because the original part where the oil came out of the ground is still there. It shows the exact spot where the well was drilled. Also, the location and surroundings haven't changed much since it was first built.
The Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company
The Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company (ITIO) played a big role in finding oil in Oklahoma. It started back in 1895 when Edwin B. Foster signed a huge agreement. This agreement allowed him to explore for oil on 1.5 million acres of land belonging to the Osage Nation.
How the Company Grew
In 1901, two companies that were working on this land joined together to form ITIO. Henry V. Foster, who took over from Edwin, divided the land into smaller sections. He then rented these sections to other oil companies. ITIO also kept some areas to develop oil wells themselves.
In 1903, Theodore N. Barnsdall bought a large part of the company. The company did very well after that. They even got to renew their agreement for the Osage land in 1906, though it was for a smaller area. Later, a company called Cities Service Company bought out Barnsdall's share.
Finding More Oil
Even after losing the Osage land agreement in 1916, ITIO continued to find oil in other parts of Oklahoma. They were responsible for discovering the famous Oklahoma City Oil Field on December 4, 1928. This made ITIO a major player in the oil business. By 1940, Cities Service Company owned all of ITIO and combined its operations with other companies.
