about bothwell

Daytripping by Clara Wortner

Oil is synonymous with the name Bothwell in its earlier years. The Delaware Native Christians and the Brethren, who arrived in the area in1792, to settle the Moravian Missionary at Fairfield used oil mainly as a liniment or as medicines. On February 15, 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe accompanied by natives, found a spring of petroleum along the banks of the Thames River and so started the Bothwell Oil Fields. In the 1860’s, Bothwell had the allure, chaos and mayhem equal to any gold rush town. The oil boom brought many new faces. Prior to the Civil War, American army officers and many other prospectors were very interested in Bothwell oil deposits. Oil Kings arose – John Lick, B.T. Wells and Reid in the forefront. The Bothwell oilmen felt a severe stain with the ending of the American Civil War in 1865, the Fenian Raids and the threat of a possible war between Canada and the United States. The prolific Kings Well in the Petrolia field flooded the market with low priced oil in 1866. The drop in crude oil from $12.00 to $2.00 and as low as .50 cents a barrel was also an increasing threat to Bothwell’s economy with the end result of 172 of the 203 wells shutting down in 1866. Oil continued to flow but the big boom had passed until the second phase of oil production in the 1890’s.

In 1887, Walter Goodyear owned a one hundred acre farm, located on the now Zone Road #7, to which he leased fifty acres to Frank Carmen and Dr. Charles Fairbank, who built a powerhouse and jerker line system which operated 150 wells. In 1907, a Stevenson Boiler Works Steam engine was installed by Ab Baines, the father of Albert Baines, proprietor of Baines Machine Shop in Petrolia. Dr. Fairbank married Clara Sussex from Bothwell and continued pumping oil in Petrolia long after his lease in Bothwell expired. Three generations of Fairbanks have since continued pumping oil on their property in Oil Springs. Goodyear’s granddaughter married Andrew Marcus. The Marcus Family also has an association with the oil industry through the Harold Marcus Trucking Company. The Goodyear property changed hands over the years. In 1931, Ted Holmes purchased the oil field and the land remained in the Holmes family until 1966. Brief owners were George Stevenson, Graham Chambers and Mr. Bradley. Delbert Sitler owned the property for twenty years when Thomas Barnes took ownership. Sons, Lonnie and John Barnes are the present day owners. The powerhouse and jerker lines were in use until 1989 when the five wells that are still pumping oil on Zone Road #7 were converted to motor driven pumps. Although the powerhouse is over 100 years old, much of the equipment is original and working as well as it did when the powerhouse was first built. The Bothwell-Zone Oil Museum, with the official opening on May 26th 2001, has undertaken to preserve the powerhouse and the jerker lines along with the history of the Bothwell Oil Booms. Grants from Chatham- Kent Community Partnership Fund, Ontario Trillium Foundation and donations from individuals has enabled the Oil Museum to preserve the history for future generations.

Bothwell’s oil producing history also has a connection to one of our Fathers of Confederation. In 1852, George Brown, the founder and editor of The Globe who later became a Father of Confederation, bought 4,000 acres in Zone Township. He saw opportunity because the railway would cut right through his land. He founded the town of Bothwell and named after his mother’s hometown in Scotland. Using his newspaper, he advertised Bothwell lots in 1854 and thanks to the rail, people began came.

The Globe was also reporting on Oil Springs so when John M. Lick struck Bothwell’s first gusher in April, 1863, producing 200 barrels a day well it was big news. It took four days to bring it under control. Like High Nixon Shaw in Oil Springs, Lick refused to sell despite exorbitant offers. The news spread rapidly, spurring another mad oil rush.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

For more information on the Fathers of Confederation: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2989-e.html

In 1893, another Bothwell oil strike spawned another oil boom. This strike led to more discoveries. Hiram Walker, the whiskey magnate, was here producing oil. Also, John Henry Fairbank’s son, Dr. Charles Fairbank, along with his partner Frank Carmen leased land to produce oil.

http://www.walkervilletimes.com/hiramwho.htm