Rare 1859-60 Pennsylvania oil country indenture for land near Drake's Well
Draft of an agreement between J. W. Henderson and J. O. & Mary Guild for land leased by the Guilds to Henderson first on September 29, 1859 which assigned Henderson "exclusive right to prospect for & mine & operate for oil, salt and other valuable minerals on certain premises therein described" and renewed "for a better understand and definition of the terms of said indenture" on May 14, 1860. On a single sheet, folded, 12 inches tall, 1 1/2 pages, in ink, with some corrections and amendments in pencil. Drake first discovered oil in the region on August 27, 1859, thanks to his innovative use of driving pipes through bedrock and drilling within those pipes, and what followed almost immediately was an oil rush and the growth of boom towns in the area. Research shows that James Orville Guild and his wife Mary Foster Guild owned 200 acres of farmland abutting East Oil Creek in the Oil City area, and that John W. Henderson, a Burgess of Pleasantville, a few miles away, is almost certainly the person who leased land from them. From what we can tell, the Guilds lived in Petrolia. This draft does not mention any properties by name, nor the amount of land that Henderson was leasing, as it seems to have been parceled out by the acre, but was likely used to prepare formal amendments to the lease already on file. Very Good. Item #H13294
Price: $400.00