Flashback Fridays: Our very first oil well

Edward L. Doheny (Source: LAPL photo #00028209)

You might know that Los Angeles has a long history of oil (there’s those, you know, La Brea Tar Pits, in case you forgot), but did you know Echo Park is the site of the first Los Angeles oil well?

It was Edward Doheny and Charles Canfield who dug this well in 1892. The story goes, Doheny was in downtown when he saw some guys pushing a heavy cart full of this black, sticky stuff called “brea” (Spanish for “pitch”). The driver told him he had pulled out of a hold near Westlake Park. Learning that the pitch was a fuel replacement for coal, he and Canfield raised money to buy a three-lot parcel at the corner of Patton and State streets, and started digging by hand.

Months later and after 155 feet, the fumes were making everyone sick. They built a crude drilling rig, using a eucalyptus tree trunk, which broke and delays the drilling for weeks until they got the broken rig out of the hole and fixed it. Finally, in March 1893 after 225 feet, the site became the first free-flowing oil well ever drilled in Los Angeles.

“I had found gold and I had found silver and I had found lead,” wrote Doheny, “but this ugly-looking substance… was the key to something more valuable than any or all of these metals.”

They produced 40 barrels per day, selling it for $2 pr barrel (50 cents below market rate). The well pumped for three years, and eventually, Doheny and Canfield expanded their partnership around Los Angeles, making a fortune.

You can read all about it in The Dark Side of Fortune.


Flickr photo via The Eastsider LA

Why show a picture of the Echo Park pool, you ask? Well, the parking lot is the exact site of the oil well. If you are interested in checking out the long history of oil wells in Los Angeles, you might want to read about the urban oil wells bus tour from Spring 2010 led by the Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI) – there are some interesting sites you might want to visit some day!

720 replies
« Older CommentsNewer Comments »
  1. jne terdekat says:

    Awesome write-up. I’m a normal visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.

  2. joker388 says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really frustrating. A good blog with interesting content, that is what I need. Thank you for making this website, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  3. joker 123 says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and net stuff and this is actually frustrating. A good blog with interesting content, that is what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  4. joker388 says:

    Hi there. I found your web site by the use of Google even as searching for a related subject, your website came up. It appears to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  5. joker 777 says:

    Hello there. I discovered your website by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable topic, your site came up. It seems good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  6. joker888 says:

    Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.

  7. joker123 says:

    Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is really irritating. A good website with interesting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  8. joker 8868 says:

    Awesome write-up. I’m a regular visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a really long time.

  9. joker777 says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is actually irritating. A good website with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  10. Cara Menjadi Member HDI says:

    Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is actually annoying. A good web site with interesting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  11. melirik.com says:

    Hi there. I discovered your web site by way of Google even as looking for a comparable topic, your website got here up. It seems good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.

  12. Judi Bola says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually irritating. A good web site with interesting content, that is what I need. Thank you for making this site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  13. dewamainQQ says:

    Hello there. I found your blog via Google whilst searching for a related topic, your web site got here up. It seems to be great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  14. Cara Jadi member HDI says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually annoying. A good website with exciting content, that is what I need. Thank you for making this site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  15. koki77.com says:

    Hey there. I found your web site by the use of Google whilst searching for a similar topic, your website got here up. It appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  16. sentronclean.com says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and internet stuff and this is really frustrating. A good blog with interesting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this website, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  17. apk s128 says:

    Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and net stuff and this is actually annoying. A good website with interesting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this website, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  18. download apk s128 says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually irritating. A good website with exciting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this web site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  19. s128 download says:

    Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.

  20. login s128 says:

    Hi there. I discovered your blog via Google at the same time as looking for a related topic, your website came up. It looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  21. s128.apk says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really frustrating. A good web site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this website, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  22. s128.asia says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and net stuff and this is really annoying. A good site with interesting content, that is what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  23. instal s128 apk says:

    Awesome write-up. I’m a regular visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.

  24. s128 live streaming says:

    Hi there. I found your web site by way of Google even as searching for a comparable topic, your web site came up. It looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.

  25. daftar akun s128 says:

    Hi there. I found your site by means of Google while looking for a comparable matter, your web site got here up. It seems good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  26. s1288 says:

    Hi there. I discovered your web site by means of Google whilst searching for a comparable topic, your web site came up. It looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.

  27. s128 says:

    Awesome post. I’m a normal visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a really long time.

  28. Bandung Trip says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is really annoying. A good blog with interesting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this website, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  29. cetak stiker hologram says:

    Hey there. I discovered your web site via Google at the same time as looking for a similar subject, your website came up. It appears to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  30. agen s128 says:

    Hey there. I found your web site by means of Google even as looking for a similar matter, your web site came up. It seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  31. situs poker online terbaik says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really annoying. A good web site with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for making this website, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  32. seo nusa says:

    Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually irritating. A good blog with interesting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?

  33. situs poker terbaik says:

    Hey there. I found your blog by means of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable matter, your web site got here up. It seems great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  34. Agen Sbobet Terpercaya says:

    Hello there. I discovered your web site by the use of Google even as searching for a comparable subject, your website got here up. It appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.

  35. Play303 says:

    Awesome write-up. I am a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a long time.

  36. Agen Sbobet Terpercaya says:

    Hi there. I found your site by means of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable subject, your website came up. It appears great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

  37. Situs Judi Slot Online says:

    Hello there. I found your web site by means of Google at the same time as looking for a similar matter, your website came up. It looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.

« Older CommentsNewer Comments »

Comments are closed.