James L. Collins
Born in Weston, West Virginia, James Lawrence Collins (1883-1953) began his
career in the petroleum industry at age fourteen. New oil discoveries in Texas
brought him to the Corsicana area about 1923. He soon formed a partnership with
two brothers, John and Robert Wheelock, and founded the Wheelock & Collins Oil
Company.
Collins' business was instrumental in the development of the Corsicana field,
the East Texas field, and other oil fields around the country. His success and
expertise were widely recognized throughout the industry and led him into
positions of leadership in several national petroleum associations.
Never married, Collins provided upon his death that his $13 million estate be
divided among four organizations. These included Dallas' Scottish Rite Hospital
for Crippled Children and St. Joseph's Orphanage. Part of the estate went to
his local Roman Catholic parish, which used the money to build and operate the
school at this site. The remainder of his estate went to create scholarships
for graduates of Corsicana High School.
Collins' contributions as a businessman and civic leader played an important
role in the development and history of the Corsicana area. (1983)
Location: Corsicana, Navarro County Texas - West State Highway 22, Collins
Catholic School
Collins of Lewis County, West Virginia
Moderator: efinn
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John Patrick Gillooly
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:20 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia - USA
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John Patrick Gillooly
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:20 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia - USA
I learned today from a close friend of James Collins, Robert Gillooly that his friends knew him by the nickname "WICK".
He had a brother JOHN and two sisters.
John and the sisters never married. "WORKER BEES" I guess!
The Collins farm joined the GILLOOLY'S in Lewis County, West Virginia.
Rugged men and women these were!!
He had a brother JOHN and two sisters.
John and the sisters never married. "WORKER BEES" I guess!
The Collins farm joined the GILLOOLY'S in Lewis County, West Virginia.
Rugged men and women these were!!
Last edited by John Patrick Gillooly on Tue Feb 28, 2006 11:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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John Patrick Gillooly
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:20 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia - USA
I know a lot of you don't care. But this was a man of vision.
James of limited education responed to a question: - " James ,what University did you graduate from"? James replied; "The University of Sand Fork". "Questioner", "I don't believe I have ever heard of that University."
James replied: " I can't be responsible for your damed ignorance"
"Sand Fork", was the name of the creek in West Virginia on which he was born.
May GOD bless him and keep him in his arms.
James of limited education responed to a question: - " James ,what University did you graduate from"? James replied; "The University of Sand Fork". "Questioner", "I don't believe I have ever heard of that University."
James replied: " I can't be responsible for your damed ignorance"
"Sand Fork", was the name of the creek in West Virginia on which he was born.
May GOD bless him and keep him in his arms.
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John Patrick Gillooly
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:20 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia - USA
Hello, Col. Drake? Are you sitting down for this?
As early as the 1820s, oil drilled from West Virginia wells was used as a light
source and an industrial lubricant marking the first documented commercial use
of oil in this country, says the author of a new history book on West
Virginia's early oil and gas business.
David McKain, a Parkersburg, W.Va., businessman whose great-grandfathers
participated in the oil boom of the 1860s, has authored a book that challenges
Col. Edwin L. Drake and his neighboring Pennsylvanian long-time claim as the
birthplace of the oil business.
"This is an old oil producing area," McKain said. "West Virginia was at the
very forefront of the oil business - but we had the Civil War to contend with
in the first five years."
Where It All Began, a 400-page book with 270 pictures and maps detailing the
history of the oil and gas business in West Virginia and Southeastern Ohio,
contends that the oil business got its start in this area, and that
Pennsylvania's illustrious Drake well was indebted to West Virginia drillers
for drilling tools.
In fact, McKain claims, the Drake well even used "Pure West Virginia
Lubricating Oil" to lubricate its drilling machinery.
He also claims in the book that many modern drilling tools were developed in
West Virginia in the early 1800s. The book also focuses on the political
influence that industry leaders had on the creation of the state of West
Virginia in the midst of the turmoil of the Civil War.
McKain said it took him about five years to write his book - and he's now
working on a sequel.
The book was the result of a casual investigation into the early history of the
oil and gas industry. As part of his research, he and his co-author went
through old newspapers from 1865 to 1913 and researched libraries and
courthouse records.
"I was appalled," he said, "that nobody had done anything with such an
interesting story."
A Piece of History
McKain's work led to more than just a publication. While researching the book
with co-author, Bernard Allen, a history professor at West Virginia University
in Parkersburg, McKain also established the Oil & Gas Museum in Parkersburg.
The Museum features a collection of artifacts, papers and documents from the
oil and gas industry. It also has a replica of an old oilfield office.
The nonprofit museum is housed in a four-story building, and the first floor is
already filled up with artifacts. "We're working on the second floor now," he
said.
Retired petroleum geologist and AAPG member George Grow Jr. recently donated an
historic oil well site at Burning Springs in Wirt County, W.Va., to the museum
to help create a memorial and park recognizing Burning Springs' role as the
first West Virginia oil boomtown.
The well is located about 30 miles from the museum, which is in downtown
Parkersburg.
Grow, of Westfield, N.J., deeded the well site along with five acres of land
adjacent to the museum.
"They're going to try to clean it out and pump a little bit of oil," Grow said.
"It hasn't been active in many years."
Once it is refurbished, he said, it will be the oldest producing well in the
world.
Where It All Began?
The donated well was first drilled in June 1860 by J.C. Rathbone, using a steam
engine for power. It was a natural 100-barrel-per-day gusher at only 140 feet.
The well began producing just a few months after the Drake well came in, he
said. Drake's well found oil in August, 1859.
Grow's grandfather reassembled the Rathbone tract at the turn of the century
and eventually accumulated over 1,000 acres of land there.
With the discovery of oil, the small village of Burning Springs soon became a
boomtown and its population grew to more than 3,000 people.
"There are still a few shallow wells producing there in Burning Springs," Grow
said.
Grow noted that many drilling techniques were developed in the West Virginia
area. The area and the Drake well were developed simultaneously, he said.
He said his grandfather George Noah Grow bought the lease on the well in 1903.
From then on, his family has owned the lease and acquired more property. "I've
worked in the oil patch all my life, for the last 65 years," he said.
Many of the artifacts in the Parkersburg museum came from Grow's property,
including old engines and drilling equipment and "some Rube Goldberg pumping
arrangements."
"So much of the early history of the industry has been lost," he said. "Few
present day geologists appreciate the evolution of the techniques."
A demonstration of old pumping equipment will be featured at the site once it
is established as a small park.
McKain, who serves as president of the Historic Association and curator of the
museum, said a volunteer will clean the donated well site. "It's been 30 or 40
years since it produced," he said.
Boom, Then Bust
McKain operates a tool company that makes oil, gas and water well drilling and
fishing tools in Parkersburg, and his roots to the area are deep. His family
was involved in the early oil industry in Pennsylvania.
The oil boom started in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in 1859 but when the
Civil War broke out in 1860, the development of the industry was halted in West
Virginia, he said.
"Parkersburg was put under martial law during the war," McKain said.
"Everything collapsed for the duration."
The Rebels later burned the Burning Springs oilfield as a military target, but
it was rebuilt after the war. A well at the Burning Springs site that was
drilled at the same time as Col. Drake's was rebuilt after the war and produced
for many years, he said.
Before the Civil War, the high quality oil found in Parkersburg was worth $20
to $30 a barrel. He likes to point out that in today's economy, that represents
about $2,000 a barrel.
At the start of the war, those wells in the Burning Springs field were
producing from 200 to 500 barrels a day. Later they were cut back to about 50
barrels a day.
The early wells were drilled down only to 100 to 139 feet - in fact, the very
first wells were only 50 to 100 feet deep. About 20 years later, wells were
commonly drilled down to 1,700 to 2,000 feet.
McKain said that much of the big money that was made at the time came through
land speculation. "However," he added, "they couldn't find oil except in the
area from Burning Springs to Marietta, Ohio."
"It became a major oil industry center into the 1920s and then started dying
down."
Today most of the oil and gas business in West Virginia is centered in
Charleston while Parkersburg, which has a metropolitan population of about
100,000, has several plastics businesses.
But despite West Virginia's rich petroleum heritage, local history buffs didn't
take as much interest in the state's oil industry as did those in neighboring
Pennsylvania.
"No one paid attention to it," he said. "It's hard to go back now and unravel
it."
"The general view is that West Virginia's oil and gas development was an
extension of the Pennsylvania field southerly in the early 1890s at
Sistersville," he said, "not recognizing that oil's early development and
excitement started in the Little Kanawha and Ohio Valley first, where many
fortunes were made (and lost) beginning in the 1850s."
As early as the 1820s, oil drilled from West Virginia wells was used as a light
source and an industrial lubricant marking the first documented commercial use
of oil in this country, says the author of a new history book on West
Virginia's early oil and gas business.
David McKain, a Parkersburg, W.Va., businessman whose great-grandfathers
participated in the oil boom of the 1860s, has authored a book that challenges
Col. Edwin L. Drake and his neighboring Pennsylvanian long-time claim as the
birthplace of the oil business.
"This is an old oil producing area," McKain said. "West Virginia was at the
very forefront of the oil business - but we had the Civil War to contend with
in the first five years."
Where It All Began, a 400-page book with 270 pictures and maps detailing the
history of the oil and gas business in West Virginia and Southeastern Ohio,
contends that the oil business got its start in this area, and that
Pennsylvania's illustrious Drake well was indebted to West Virginia drillers
for drilling tools.
In fact, McKain claims, the Drake well even used "Pure West Virginia
Lubricating Oil" to lubricate its drilling machinery.
He also claims in the book that many modern drilling tools were developed in
West Virginia in the early 1800s. The book also focuses on the political
influence that industry leaders had on the creation of the state of West
Virginia in the midst of the turmoil of the Civil War.
McKain said it took him about five years to write his book - and he's now
working on a sequel.
The book was the result of a casual investigation into the early history of the
oil and gas industry. As part of his research, he and his co-author went
through old newspapers from 1865 to 1913 and researched libraries and
courthouse records.
"I was appalled," he said, "that nobody had done anything with such an
interesting story."
A Piece of History
McKain's work led to more than just a publication. While researching the book
with co-author, Bernard Allen, a history professor at West Virginia University
in Parkersburg, McKain also established the Oil & Gas Museum in Parkersburg.
The Museum features a collection of artifacts, papers and documents from the
oil and gas industry. It also has a replica of an old oilfield office.
The nonprofit museum is housed in a four-story building, and the first floor is
already filled up with artifacts. "We're working on the second floor now," he
said.
Retired petroleum geologist and AAPG member George Grow Jr. recently donated an
historic oil well site at Burning Springs in Wirt County, W.Va., to the museum
to help create a memorial and park recognizing Burning Springs' role as the
first West Virginia oil boomtown.
The well is located about 30 miles from the museum, which is in downtown
Parkersburg.
Grow, of Westfield, N.J., deeded the well site along with five acres of land
adjacent to the museum.
"They're going to try to clean it out and pump a little bit of oil," Grow said.
"It hasn't been active in many years."
Once it is refurbished, he said, it will be the oldest producing well in the
world.
Where It All Began?
The donated well was first drilled in June 1860 by J.C. Rathbone, using a steam
engine for power. It was a natural 100-barrel-per-day gusher at only 140 feet.
The well began producing just a few months after the Drake well came in, he
said. Drake's well found oil in August, 1859.
Grow's grandfather reassembled the Rathbone tract at the turn of the century
and eventually accumulated over 1,000 acres of land there.
With the discovery of oil, the small village of Burning Springs soon became a
boomtown and its population grew to more than 3,000 people.
"There are still a few shallow wells producing there in Burning Springs," Grow
said.
Grow noted that many drilling techniques were developed in the West Virginia
area. The area and the Drake well were developed simultaneously, he said.
He said his grandfather George Noah Grow bought the lease on the well in 1903.
From then on, his family has owned the lease and acquired more property. "I've
worked in the oil patch all my life, for the last 65 years," he said.
Many of the artifacts in the Parkersburg museum came from Grow's property,
including old engines and drilling equipment and "some Rube Goldberg pumping
arrangements."
"So much of the early history of the industry has been lost," he said. "Few
present day geologists appreciate the evolution of the techniques."
A demonstration of old pumping equipment will be featured at the site once it
is established as a small park.
McKain, who serves as president of the Historic Association and curator of the
museum, said a volunteer will clean the donated well site. "It's been 30 or 40
years since it produced," he said.
Boom, Then Bust
McKain operates a tool company that makes oil, gas and water well drilling and
fishing tools in Parkersburg, and his roots to the area are deep. His family
was involved in the early oil industry in Pennsylvania.
The oil boom started in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in 1859 but when the
Civil War broke out in 1860, the development of the industry was halted in West
Virginia, he said.
"Parkersburg was put under martial law during the war," McKain said.
"Everything collapsed for the duration."
The Rebels later burned the Burning Springs oilfield as a military target, but
it was rebuilt after the war. A well at the Burning Springs site that was
drilled at the same time as Col. Drake's was rebuilt after the war and produced
for many years, he said.
Before the Civil War, the high quality oil found in Parkersburg was worth $20
to $30 a barrel. He likes to point out that in today's economy, that represents
about $2,000 a barrel.
At the start of the war, those wells in the Burning Springs field were
producing from 200 to 500 barrels a day. Later they were cut back to about 50
barrels a day.
The early wells were drilled down only to 100 to 139 feet - in fact, the very
first wells were only 50 to 100 feet deep. About 20 years later, wells were
commonly drilled down to 1,700 to 2,000 feet.
McKain said that much of the big money that was made at the time came through
land speculation. "However," he added, "they couldn't find oil except in the
area from Burning Springs to Marietta, Ohio."
"It became a major oil industry center into the 1920s and then started dying
down."
Today most of the oil and gas business in West Virginia is centered in
Charleston while Parkersburg, which has a metropolitan population of about
100,000, has several plastics businesses.
But despite West Virginia's rich petroleum heritage, local history buffs didn't
take as much interest in the state's oil industry as did those in neighboring
Pennsylvania.
"No one paid attention to it," he said. "It's hard to go back now and unravel
it."
"The general view is that West Virginia's oil and gas development was an
extension of the Pennsylvania field southerly in the early 1890s at
Sistersville," he said, "not recognizing that oil's early development and
excitement started in the Little Kanawha and Ohio Valley first, where many
fortunes were made (and lost) beginning in the 1850s."
-
John Patrick Gillooly
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:20 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia - USA
-
John Patrick Gillooly
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:20 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia - USA
OH NO! 13 MILLION WAS NOT THE EXTENT OF HIS ESTATE!
Moneys were given to the preservation of the IRISH MISSIONS in WEST VIRGINIA where he was born. Which included SAINT BERNARDS on LOVEBERRY.
He stipulated that the moneys were to remain in the parish otherwise they would be forfeited. This was his way of preserving what was near and dear to him.
SAINT BERNARDS CHURCH has been declared an: HISTORICAL SITE!
Moneys were given to the preservation of the IRISH MISSIONS in WEST VIRGINIA where he was born. Which included SAINT BERNARDS on LOVEBERRY.
He stipulated that the moneys were to remain in the parish otherwise they would be forfeited. This was his way of preserving what was near and dear to him.
SAINT BERNARDS CHURCH has been declared an: HISTORICAL SITE!
-
John Patrick Gillooly
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:20 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia - USA
John,
I read the materials on the website which were great. I especially enjoyed
the reference to University of Sand Fork. That story reminded me of a
remark of a similar nature which was credited to Mr. Collins. He helped
open the Mexia oilfield just south of here in 1921 and the Powell field
just east of here in 1923. Both of these fields lie on the Balcones Fault
which is a geologic demarcation between Central Texas and East Texas which
runs from a point east of San Antonio in a northeast direction to just
north of Powell. Through the years oil deposits have been discovered all
along this geologic fault line.
Jim Collins had just drilled a dry hole in the Mexia field, I believe. A
young precocious geologist approached him and asked if he was the man that
had just drilled the dry hole on "Balcones Fault". To which, Jim Collins
reportedly replied, "it wasn't Balcones fault, it was my own damn fault!"
Jim Collins was a beloved friend in this community, I have heard from many,
many sources. Thanks for bringing the information in the website to my
attention. I will send the photos off to you this evening.
Larry Turner
Texas Oil Man
I read the materials on the website which were great. I especially enjoyed
the reference to University of Sand Fork. That story reminded me of a
remark of a similar nature which was credited to Mr. Collins. He helped
open the Mexia oilfield just south of here in 1921 and the Powell field
just east of here in 1923. Both of these fields lie on the Balcones Fault
which is a geologic demarcation between Central Texas and East Texas which
runs from a point east of San Antonio in a northeast direction to just
north of Powell. Through the years oil deposits have been discovered all
along this geologic fault line.
Jim Collins had just drilled a dry hole in the Mexia field, I believe. A
young precocious geologist approached him and asked if he was the man that
had just drilled the dry hole on "Balcones Fault". To which, Jim Collins
reportedly replied, "it wasn't Balcones fault, it was my own damn fault!"
Jim Collins was a beloved friend in this community, I have heard from many,
many sources. Thanks for bringing the information in the website to my
attention. I will send the photos off to you this evening.
Larry Turner
Texas Oil Man