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idea of drilling a well to tap the oil. Drilling was not a new concept,
for people had been drilling saltwater wells in the Titusville area for
years. Interestingly, many of these saltwater wells also produced oil,
which the salt drillers considered a nuisance because it contaminated
the salt.
Another issue facing the fledgling oil company was the need to
hire someone to oversee the drilling project in Titusville. Eventually,
board member Townsend met and hired Edwin L. Drake to represent
Seneca's interests at the Oil Creek site. At the time, Drake was an
unemployed rail-road conductor, but he had two things going for him.
First, because he was out of work, he had plenty of time to devote to
the project. Second, Drake had a railroad pass, which allowed him free
travel to Pennsylvania. As a final touch, Townsend gave Drake the
rank of honorary colonel, which sounded considerably more
prestigious than just plain mister. With that, Colonel Drake went to
Titusville.
By the spring of 1859, Drake employed William A. Smith to
be his well driller. Smith, a blacksmith and an experienced brine-well
driller, was known to most everyone as Uncle Billy. He showed up at
the well site in Titusville with his sons as helpers and his daughter as
camp cook. One of the first things Drake and Uncle Billy did was
drive a length of hollow steel pipe through the soft surface soil until it
reached bed-rock. If they had not used this pipe, this steel casing, the
loose topsoil would have caved into any hole they tried to drill. (To
this day, drillers still begin oilwells by casing the top of the hole.)
Drake and Smith then built the drilling rig, ran the drilling tools inside
the casing, and drilled the rock.
By Saturday, August 26, 1859, Drake and Smith had drilled
the hole to a depth of about 69 feet (21 metres). Near the end of the
day, Smith noted that the bit suddenly dropped 6 inches (15
centimetres). It was near quitting time, so he shut the operation down,
figuring he and the boys would continue drilling the following
Monday. On Sunday, which in those days was a well driller's holiday,

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