Weston Wednesday: Wash. County oil boom, Part 2
Editor's Note: In collaboration with the Bartlesville Area History Museum, the Examiner-Enterprise has revived the late Edgar Weston's 'Revisiting the Past' columns that ran in the newspaper from 1997-99. Weston's columns recount the history of Bartlesville as well as Washington, Nowata and Osage counties.
The great movement into Bartlesville as the Santa Fe Railroad began operation brought a diversity of businesses as well as oil interests into Bartlesville. Some were one man businesses, Herb Sheller came as a sign painter in 1903. Sheller began work as soon as he arrived and many of the finer signs on businesses and office doors were the work of Sheller. He climbed high ladders to apply his gold painted letters. Sheller's early hobby of photographing scenes around Bartlesville is responsible for preservation of the actual appearance of landmarks long gone today. He was also an artist who received much local recognition. He also searched for and collected Indian artifacts.
Frank Griggs, who came later, and Herb Sheller developed a very close friendship that continued as long as they lived. I used to spend quite a bit of time with Frank Griggs and it was through this connection that I became acquainted with Herb Sheller. Herb and Frank would go camping in Barry County, Missouri and stay a week at a time. They explored caves, fished, looked for artifacts, and made photographs. They camped out and purchased eggs, bacon, homemade bread, fruit, and vegetables from the natives there. I was born in Barry County, Mo. where my ancestors settled as early as 1838. Herb's wife was the daughter of Capt. Sidney Antle, a Civil War soldier, of Barry County, Mo. Herb invited me to his home where we viewed his paintings and Indian artifacts. He had a very fine collection of both. His artifacts, all found in Barry County, Mo., were some of the finest I have ever seen. He had been going there from the early 1900's.
Guy Tatroe came to Bartlesville as a carpenter in 1903 and continued until 1910, when he purchased a planing mill. He expanded into Tatroe's Planing Mill and Glass Works in his own building at 100 South Osage Avenue by 1921. His son Paul Tatroe joined him in 1950. The business was later sold.
Also coming in 1903 was N.E. Hains, florist. He had worked for Steinhauser Greenhouse before opening his own store. He was joined by his son Paul in 1942. He built a new facility at 609 East 11th Street, where they operated nine greenhouses.
The Bradley and Bryant Store on the southwest corner of Third and Dewey Avenue was completed in 1903. Its ground floor became an important merchandising store and the second floor, the site of the first opera house. The floor was just a level floor and those seated toward the back could not see very well.
The MK&T Railroad came to Bartlesville in 1903, giving railroad service from a much wider area into and out of Bartlesville.
Telephone service added tremendously to doing business. The telephone exchange was established in 1901 by the Cherokee National Telephone Company, with W.H. Gates as manager. There were few phones out in the residential areas and much business was conducted by personal contact. Grocery stores employed “solicitors” to go to the homes by horseback or on bicycles to get the housewives’ grocery orders. Then a light wagon delivered the groceries to the homes. The men worked long hours and even though the stores were open until 9:30 p.m., this was about the only way housewives could get groceries without much hardship. Just keeping a home and family was hard enough.
The establishment of many businesses helped the “Oil Boom” to begin without pure confusion. The two railroads in place, telephone service, supplies available, and the knowledge gained in drilling on town lots were valuable and helpful to all developers coming into town.
When the “Oil Boom” began, developers went out in the country and leased allotments and began “wild catting,” or drilling without any geology. Some used “creekology,” some looked for certain physical signs, really just guessing. Oil wells were drilled very close together where oil had been found. They continued drilling when they had no way to hold the oil in tanks. Oil pools on the ground were very large and oil flowed into the creeks and rivers. “Let’s find all we can,” seemed to be the rule.
The Weber Oil Pool southeast of Dewey and northeast of Bartlesville had a row of wooden tanks to hold the oil.
Production grew up to 2,600 barrels per day. One of the first oil fires in Oklahoma was in the Weber Pool. It took specialists to control the fire. Lightening was one of the greatest causes of the oil fires. The fire danger was very great.
When we look at Washington County maps showing the wells drilled, it is revealing to count the number of wells drilled in some sections. About one half produced oil and gas. If good conservation methods had been used, the production would have been much greater. When the gas was blown off or wasted, the oil did not flow to the oil well to be pumped out. Without the gas pressure, production was cut greatly and much of the gas was wasted, or just blown off.
Everything that could happen did happen in the leasing and drilling for oil and gas. Lease jumping was common, intrigue or secret underhanded plotting was used especially where large wells came in. The owner usually tried to protect leases by leasing the surrounding area. When the well was drilled in, if it was a large producer, lease jumpers hunted out the allotment owners and took second leases on the land. If the original driller or producer had not registered the surrounding land leases, the race was on to get to Muskogee to get their leases on record. Many contested leases were taken to court for determination. Sometimes under age allottees signed two or more leases. Sometimes under age allottees were taken out of the area and held until they became of age, then signed the lease and were paid the lease rental and returned to their homes. There were even killings over lease jumping. Any scheme that could be dreamed up was used to try to take advantage of another person. In south Bartlesville an oil lease taken with the Mary Thursday family involved more than one leasee. It was hotly contested and finally ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court for determination.
Roy Bopst told me that he and several others were prepared to board the train for Muskogee to register leases. Roy said, “I was taught all of the procedures to properly register an oil lease and made many trips for companies and individuals. You had to get there first and know all of the details in proper lease registering.”
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Weston Wednesday: Wash. County oil boom, Part 2
