The Empire Well, Funk Farm
From
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Drake Well Museum
Collection, Titusville, PA
The first great flowing well in the history of the oil industry was the Empire well on Funk Farm. Completed in September, 1861, it initially flowed at 3,000 barrels per day. This well also illustrated the turbulent nature of the oil industry in these early days. With an extra 3,000 barrels of oil flooding the market each day, the price of oil plummeted to 10 cents a barrel.
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