The History of OIL

The first modern man to drill (bore a hole in the ground) for oil was named Drake. He built the wooden derrick for this purpose in Titus-ville, Pennsylvania, USA. It was called Drake's Folly, because, at first, many things were wrong. But when he struck oil in 1859, and brought it up from 69 feet below ground, people did not think him so foolish.

Up to middle 1800's nobody was much interested in producing oil in large quantities because there was no great need for it. In a limited way oil had been used for thousands of years. In ancient cities in Egypt and Asia builders used asphalt to pave their roads. Egyptians dipped the bandages used to wrap around their mummies in pitch, a petroleum product. The Greeks and Romans oiled their chariot wheels with petroleum, a name derived from petra, meaning rock, and oleum, meaning oil.

In early times oil was used as a medicine believed to cure leprosy, rheumatism, and toothache. In America, long before European colo­nists arrived, Indians were skimming off the oil floating on the surface of certain springs. They used it to treat rheumatism, burns, and coughs.

Until the middle of 1800's, however, very few people wanted or needed oil. In fact, to the salt makers, it was an out-and-out nuisance. These men dug wells near the great salt deposits and pumped up the brine which was then evaporated, leaving a crust of pure salt. Salt makers often found oil mixed in their brine, which ruined it for sait making. They were then forced to abandon their salt wells.

For centuries people had been getting along with the feeble glow from candles. All work was done by daylight, and people went to bed shortly after dark. Then, early in the nineteenth century, it was found that a lamp filled with whale oil gave a brighter, cleaner light. The great whaling industry grew up to supply the increasing demand for

18 Chapter One

whale oil. At last whales became so scarce that whale-oil production began to drop steadily. At the same time, more and more people needed lamp oil. Something had to be found to take place of whale oil!

By this time there was another fast growing need. New machines

were beginning to be used all over the civilized world. New machines were being invented to weave cloth, cut lumber, make nails, manufac­ture railroad locomotives, and produce hundreds of other things. And something was needed to lubricate them. So even before the automo­bile industry gulped down billions of gallons of gasoline each year, the stage was set for the appearance of the new giant - oil.

The History of Oil