The Story of Pittsburgh 
Petroleum and Natural Gas 
HE first oil well ever drilled in the United States was 
the celebrated Drake well, which began producing 
petroleum in August, 1859, at the very shallow depth 
of 6914 feet. Accounts differ as to exact day in August 
when this momentous event took place. Various books of 
reference give the date as August 28 and 29, but the man 
who did the actual work of drilling the well says it was on 
August 12, that the precious fluid rose to the surface. The 
driller was William A. Smith, familiarly known as “Uncle 
Billy Smith,” and we are indebted to “The Derrick’s Hand- 
book of Petroleum” for an interesting account of an interview 
which an Oil City Derrick correspondent had with Mr. Smith 
in the summer of 1889. 
Mr. Smith was then living on a farm in Butler County, 
Pa., nearly five miles from a railroad or postoffice, on the 
banks of Rough Run. He was then in his 78th year, and had 
been engaged in drilling wells for water for years before the 
search for oil. “I began drilling first in 1828,” he said, “and 
made the first set of jars that ever were used; used them at 
Freeport in 1830. I made the first temper screw, and the 
first joints ever used in a drilling set. Before these improve- 
ments it took six to seven years to drill a well 600 feet deep. 
With these improvements such a well could be put down in 
three months. Sam Kier’s father had all his work done by 
me. They carried on salt works. If they lost any tools I 
did the fishing. Have invented and made more fishing tools 
than any other man in Pennsylvania.” 
It may be well to explain that this “fishing” was the search 
for such drilling tools as got loose from the machinery and 
were lost in the hole. Naturally after such an accident the