First Oil Well In North America

The Thorla-McKee Well, (Designated a “Great Ohio Adventure in Learning” by the State of Ohio), is located just off SR 78* two miles East of Caldwell I-77 Exit 25 at the junction of SR 564.

At this site is the original log casing used by Silas Thorla and Robert McKee in 1814 when drilling for salt where deer were known to lick. They found salt, but also oil and natural gas, which was a nuisance at first. They bottled the substance and sold it as “Seneca Oil” for tonic. Not until 1859, when the refinery of oil was perfected, was it used for lamp and heating oil. A small amount can still be extracted for this purpose today.

In 1814, Silas Thorla and Robert McKee drilled a well near a place where deer came to lick salt. Thorla and McKee found salt, but also got oil and some natural gas. Not wanting to waste all their time spent in digging, they tried to find some use for the dirty oil. "Maybe we could burn it in the homes," McKee suggested. This filled the cabin with thick smoke. Not until after 1859, when refinery of oil was perfected, did oil come into use in the home.

Some neighbors tasted the stuff and said it ought to be good medicine. Thorla and McKee pumped the salt, water and oil up and put them in big barrels. The next day the oil had come to the top and so wool blankets were laid in the barrels to absorb it from the top of the salt water. The blankets were wrung out to get rid of the oil. It was put into bottles and sold as "Seneca Oil", a medicine for rheumatism, colds, cuts, aches, and what ails you.

The salt water was boiled down in cast iron kettles (six feet across) until all that was left was the salt. This was a priceless commodity for the frontier settlers to preserve their meat and also to flavor foods.

The well was cased with a hollow sycamore log down to the bedrock to a depth of about 18 feet. The sycamore log is 34 inches in diameter. In the center is a smaller hole that goes down from 30 feet to 200 feet. (Sources vary on depth and hasn't been logged for actual depth at this time.) Today, the original sycamore log can still be seen and the well continues to give oil, gas, and salt water in limited quantities.