Central Michigan Antique or Vintage Postcard item: RPPC Real Photo postcard, Color Chrome, or Printed Photo image collectible postcard. If a Photo and not an RPPC card, it is something that would be of interest to Postcard Collectors and History Buffs of all types. See the complete description below.

 

...CEN Mt Pleasant MI Michigan Gas & OILFIELD 1940s and 50s OIL BOOM Isabella County oil exploration and wellhead production History and Heritage Antique

ORIGINAL PHOTO, not RPPC, photo has no known negative...Size: 5-3/4" in. X 3-1/2" in. approx.


The 1920s and 1930s were the true beginning of the Michigan Oil and Gas Era! The 1940s marked an end of the "Wild West" era of oil and gas exploration and the beginning of new period for oil and gas exploration and production in Michigan. World War II energy needs both stimulated production and led to temporary oversupplies of oil while at the same time straining the tools used to deliver oil to their utmost.

The Coldwater Field in Isabella County became a hotbed of activity following the August 1944 discovery by Sohio Petroleum Company. It was drilled on the basis of core drilling geological support. The Coldwater Field was "a sweetheart", according to Sohio's Michigan Manager, geologist William H. Strickler, whose son William J. Strickler and grandson William D. Strickler who continued the family tradition of exploring for oil as consulting petroleum geologists in Mt. Pleasant. On 40-acre tracts, 80 wells were completed in the Coldwater Field to 3.600-3,700 feet in the Dundee Formation. The field would produce more than 22 million barrels of oil (an outstanding retrieval rate of over 6,800 barrels per acre) and 6.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas from 3,200 acres.

The 1950s brought the discovery of Michigan's only Giant Oil Field! The early part of the 1950s continued the activity of the 1940s. The decade's first find was near Mt. Pleasant. Drilling contractor/explorer/producer C.W. "Cliff" Collin and Mt. Pleasant landman/explorer Frank Rand (whose interest holders in the project included I.W. Hartman and Stuart Merrill) received a permit to drill a wildcat well on May 8, 1950, in the NW of Section 20-T14N-R4W, Union Township, Isabella County, with a target depth of 3,650 feet. The Rand group controlled about 740 acres of leases in sections 17, 18, 19, and 20 in Union Township. Drilling commenced on May 15, 1950, on the Albar well.

A few weeks later, as word spread of the oil show, hundreds of townspeople lined M-20 west of Mt. Pleasant to watch as the Albar well neared total depth. Onlookers' conversation turned to speculation of another oil boom west of the town like the one east of Mt. Pleasant that had sheltered the area from the Great Depression. The July 21 and 28 issues of Michigan Oil & Gas News carried front page stories about the discovery; with the latter boasting the well had already produced 2,500 barrels of oil. The Albar 1 was tested at about four barrels of oil an hour with ease.

A royalty-buying spree broke out almost immediately. Turner Petroleum Corporation and Leonard Oil Company snapped up acreage in the area. Landowners near the well reported leases at $50 an acre and above. Superior Oil Company made plans for an almost immediate west offset well while Cities Service plotted a north offset. The boom was on!!!

 

Please Note: We provide high-resolution scans and cropped views for your review. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us with any questions. We do not knowingly sell reproductions, so you can be assured these are historically significant, antique, or vintage items!

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UpNorth Memories Postcards, Historic Photographs and Paper Collectibles!

Don Harrison...The UpNorth Memories Guy! Traverse City, Michigan. 

#upnorthmemories   Mobile Format Modified: updated 8-13-2022   #upnorthmemoriescollection

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