The Grandin Well
Limestone Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
At oil spring across river at this point J.L. Grandin began second well drilled specifically for oil, Aug., 1859, after Drake''s success. It was dry, showing risks involved in oil drilling.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Just weeks after Edwin Drake struck oil in 1859, J.L. Grandin gambled on the boom by drilling the second well sunk deliberately for oil, at a spring across the river from this spot. The bit came up dry. That failure was an early, sobering lesson that the new oil business promised fortunes but delivered them unevenly, with dry holes as common as gushers.
Why it matters
Grandin's dry well captures the speculative gamble at the birth of the petroleum industry, where the risk of ruin rode alongside the promise of enormous wealth.
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Related people
- · J.L. Grandin
- · Edwin L. Drake
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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