Arriving in the Oil Creek valley in 1796, Hamilton McClintock, Sr. purchased a 400-acre tract of land for farming. To his good fortune, the property boasted a productive, natural oil spring. Like the Seneca who inhabited the land before him, McClintock saw value in the substance bubbling out of the spring. He collected several barrels of oil annually and supplemented the farm's income, selling it as medicine and as a lubricant for 50 cents to one dollar a gallon.
McClintock's farm successful oil spring made his farm valuable real estate when the Drake Well launched the modern petroleum industry in August 1859. Jonathan Watson, a partner in the company that leased the land for Drake's well, immediately rented land on the H. McClintock Farm and began drilling. Brewer, Watson and Company struck oil in November 1859, triggering a drilling bonanza on the farm. More than 60 wells were drilled in 1861, and by mid-1862, the farm had produced over 82,000 barrels of oil.
Hundreds of people flocked to the H. McClintock Farm either to drill for oil or to provide services to those hunting for it. In 1860, a village took root on the property. Positioned on the flatlands beside Oil Creek, McClintockville grew with the oil farm's success, boasting a hotel, boarding houses, stores, oil company offices, a blacksmith, refineries, a toll
bridge and more.
Right Photo Pictured here in 1864, McClintockville was home to men like Henry H. Rogers who went on to become influential oil industrialists. Before serving as vice president of Standard Oil, Rogers made his start as an oil refiner on the H. McClintock Farm. Picture is the view looking west across Oil Creek.
Middle Photo In the spring of 1864, the McClintockville Petroleum Company purchased the H. McClintock Farm (pictured here from the east side of Oil Creek in circa 1867).
Left Photo Early oil pioneers believed that the most promising drilling locations were areas near the waters of Oil Creek and places where oil naturally
seeped to the surface. As a result, Hamilton McClintock's oil spring, located in the middle of Oil Creek, became the site of the region''s third producing well. Photo shows the east bank of Oil Creek.
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