Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Oil Field Park In Sepia

Less than ten miles from my home is The Rathbone Well, an 1880's era drilling facility. It has been completely cleaned and refitted and now serves as a "living history park". The Rathbone Well is West Virginia's oldest producing oil well. When the well was first drilled in 1860, it produced a natural flow of more than one barrel every minute at the original depth of 139 feet. The Rathbone gusher prompted an oil boom that peaked after the Civil War with an average of 50 oil companies incorporating each year from 1865 to 1867. In 1863 Confederate General Jones and his men set fire to the oil stored in tanks, barrels, and boats destroying in a day an estimated 300,000 barrels of oil. In the above image the well is located by the river beneath the replica of the wooden oil well derrick. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
An old wooden barrel with metal hoops. This is the type of barrell the oil would have been stored in. I saw many throughout the community. This one sits on private property, hence the posted sign.
I can't tell you what this equipment was used for. It was sitting in the middle of the woods long discarded from its duties.
This is equipment on the grounds of the museum.
A large wooden wheel.

For more Sepia Scenes
click the badge.......>

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Those shots are awesome!
I love the idea of them keeping everything there as a theme park.

Nessa said...

Those shots are perfect in sepia and very interesting.

Anonymous said...

Images like these are best suited for sepia. Reminds me of the movie " there will be blood ". Cool.

Robin said...

What a wonderful glimpse into the past. I really like both the shots and the way they're "framed".

EG CameraGirl said...

Historical shots are perfect in sepia. I never think of WV as being oil-drilling country. Goes to show I don't know much, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

Awww what nice music to come back to :) Such wonderful pictures. It's so good that you are back...I know you weren't gone but I missed these posts...Hope Lucy and Lily are doing well Granny LOL. Have a good one :)

bARE-eYED sUN said...

we were going on and on about wanting to see these in B&W . . .

nix

we LOVE these pix, texture, specially wood is a favorite. these shots look even better when they're expanded.

thank you very much for sharing them, AND the interesting post as well.

:-)

..
.ero

Ralph said...

I hadn't considered oil in WV - but with all the coal there, it seems that oil deposits were possible. The sepia takes us back a century, and the look of a photographer's work from 'in the day'. Beauty and function can work together, and you show that!

PJ said...

Beautifully done, Carletta. You're a sepia diva!

Rose said...

Carletta, I enjoyed this post so much. The photos were perfect...the only thing better would have been to be able to see them in person.

Deb said...

Love all your sepia photos!

Raven said...

This is an incredible series of photos and they are perfect in sepia. Thanks for all the interesting information that goes with them too.

Anonymous said...

My goodness, really neat photos! Perfect sepia subject! Quite informative & interesting, too!

judi/Gmj said...

Cool beans, Jelly. Love the history and the shots!

quilly said...

The sepia is perfect for these photos and this bit of history. I found this post interesting, informative, and attractive.

Anonymous said...

If it wasn't for these shots, I might never have seen these in my lifetime. They're all fitting sepia very well :)

Pappy said...

This stuff is older than me and a little rustier. Pappy

Jientje said...

How wonderful, we both have scenes from a museum park! I enjoyed both learning a little about it's history as well as looking at your pictures. This is a great post Carletta!

Jew Wishes said...

The photos are all beautiful and nostalgic.

I like the framing around them, adding to the mood.

Melli said...

SHAME on General Jones! (not that 300,000 barrels would go far today - but back then? WOW!) Wonderful sepia series Carletta!

maryt/theteach said...

These photos look like the real thing, Carletta! Wonderful sepia! :)

kayerj said...

these are great shots, I love old equipment in sepia--it preserves their antiquity. Hope you can stop by to see my sepia scene and window views Thanks!

Danielle said...

How tragic! All that oil wasted! Great shots to remember it by though.

2sweetnsaxy said...

Thanks for the tour. I love the sepia tones which were right in line with the age of the location you were shooting.

Janice Thomson said...

A nostalgic look into the past with these fantastic sepia photos. Fantastic processing Carletta.