The sketch above by J.H. Diss Debar, depicts J.N. Camden, J.V. Rathbone and S.D. Karns, all of Parkersburg, at Burning Springs in June 1861. (Photo from WV State Archives)

Excerpts from a story by a New York Herald reporter’s 1865 visit to the Burning Springs oil field continues. The story appeared in Dave McKain’s book, “Where It All Began.”

“Six and a half miles from Parkersburg you will, if you are not in great haste, turn to the right and proceed about a quarter of a mile to the Mineral Wells, which have become quite celebrated in this locality for their medicinal virtues. The place is the ‘Saratoga’ of West Virginia, [a] resort of many fashionables of this and other states. Mr. A.W. Gordon, the proprietor of the Wells, made a fortune out of West Virginia oil lands and invested it in this property.

“At the ten-mile hotel (Butcher’s) [on present Rt.# 14 going to Elizabeth] you will obtain a good dinner, for Mrs. B is renowned all about for her ‘Indian Rapiers.’

The reporter’s description of Elizabeth will be shared in part 3 of this item.

“Burning Springs or Rathbone City

“After fording the Little Kanawha at Elizabeth, and mighty wet all over, we lodged on a tramp and came to the height of the stream, after a romantic ride through [to] Burning Springs, wholly by moonlight, and taking on board one of our horseback guards who had fainted and nearly fell from his horse, we arrived at the Pierpont House, Burning Springs, at ten o’clock at night. It was here I first inhaled the very strong odor of petroleum since my arrival in West Virginia, reminding me of the Oil Creek and Pithole regions of western Pennsylvania. The air seemed to be as densely impregnated with the gas as at any point on Oil Creek, but it was not so powerful as at the United States Well in the vicinity of Pithole.

Rathbone City

“Positioned on the Little Kanawha River thirty miles by land, thirty-nine by water from Parkersburg; it contains, within a space of two square miles, a population of about two thousand. Managers get $3 to $5 per day, laborers on the road $2.50. Board is to be had at from $5 to $7 per week. Retail prices at Rathbone City: Beef, lean kind, 12 1/2 to 15 cents per lb.; pork, none in market; flour, $1.14 per lb.; corn, $1.50 per bushel; butter for lubrication, 46 cents to 60 cents. About $1,000 has recently been expended on the improvements to the roads between Rathbone City and Elizabeth. The money was raised by subscription from parties from this place. It contains two hotels – one the Pierpont, kept by J.C. Johnson and the other, which was formerly known as the Union but kept by a firm named Biggs. There are several houses [boarding houses], the Chicago, for instance, and numerous primitive boarding houses on the hills. The Pierpont is the finest and most frequented. It charges three dollars per day. Good tables. It is near the best to be had in the city.”

The reporter also shared about the huge amounts of money that had been invested in this oil region, the history of the area and its people, the Jones raid during the Civil War, and many other interesting facts about his two-week visit. These excerpts conclude next week with his return home, his results and his description of Elizabeth.

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Bob Enoch is president of the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society. If you have comments or questions about Look Back items, please contact him at: roberteenoch@gmail.com, or by mail at WCHPS, PO Box 565, Parkersburg, WV 26102.