Oil has long been used as a lubricant and a simple light source. It was originally obtained for such purposes by skimming it off the surface of ponds and well water. It was also collected from oil seeps. Since the usage at that time required very little oil, such tiny quantities sufficed. As people began to realize the value of oil, however, the demand increased. With the increase of demand, the question arose: How do we obtain oil in larger quantities?
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Who Was Edwin Drake?
Enter Edwin Laurentine Drake, born March 29, 1819. He had absolutely no knowledge in the field of oil, having been a railroad conductor, but had that mind that seizes upon ideas and carries them out.
Drake was hired by the Seneca Oil Company to examine better ways to obtain more oil from the seeps in Pennsylvania. As he headed on his way by train from Connecticut to Titusville, Pennsylvania, he observed how salt mines pumped salt water deep out of the ground with a derrick. This little observation, although quite simple, would prove to change the history of the world.
Drake’s Folly
Upon arriving at the site of the seeps, he decided to dig a trench to retrieve more oil. However, he retrieved a lot more than just oil; he also obtained water — so much in fact, that the trench idea had to be abandoned. He then recalled the salt mine method of obtaining salt water.
He obtained a secondhand steam engine to operate a drill bit, and set to work. “Drake’s Folly,” nicknamed by the bystanders, certainly seemed destined for failure at first.
Upon the earth caving back into his hole, Drake decided to hire a blacksmith to drive iron pipes down behind the drill bit to keep the hole clear. With the addition of the iron pipes, collapse ceased to be a problem, and it became clear that drilling, although only at a rate of one yard a day, had become quite possible.
By the evening of August 26, 1859, Drake had reached 69 feet. The blacksmith who did the drilling headed home, planning to continue the drilling on the morrow. The next morning, when the blacksmith went to resume work, he saw that the well had filled with oil.
Drake pumped it up with a hand pump into a bathtub. Thus, “Drake’s Folly” became the first producing oil well with a rate of twenty-five barrels a day.
Oil Drilling Today
Drake’s idea of using a drive pipe and a drill bit to bore through bedrock is still used today. Modern oil wells, of course, don’t use hand pumps or bathtubs; they use an electric motor to drive a large rising and falling pump that operates on principles similar to the hand pump.
Drilling techniques are improved by adding “mud” — a complicated chemical mixture designed to lubricate the bit and fluid-proof the well walls.
Myriads of different types of drilling are used. For example, by drilling underground sideways rather than vertically — horizontal drilling — oil not accessible by standard drilling techniques becomes available.
Oil has been used since ancient times, but was only available in limited quantities until Edwin Drake pioneered modern drilling techniques. His simple ideas for oil attainment sparked a massive worldwide industry, where oil is used for everything from fuels to lubricants and even plastics. Such massive utilization could not have been dreamed of in Drake’s time; and we can only imagine how he would feel if he knew what revolution his simple drilling techniques sparked.
Suggestions
Have your students do one or more of the following:
- Explain the process of oil drilling.
- Draw or illustrate the first oil well. Explain your illustration.
- Explain how petroleum is processed and used (see public domain title below).
- Copy the passage from the book above that explains petroleum processing.
- Explain the advantages of using petroleum vs. steam.
- Explain the importance of the Suez Canal.
- Explore the internal combustion engine.
Further Investigation
The Drake Family History Brochure (archived)
Biography from the Drake Well Museum in Titusville, PA.
Oil History by Samuel T. Pees
The history of oil exploration beginning with Drake’s well.
How Does Oil Drilling Work?
A quick primer.
How Does Well Completion Work?
Produce or plug?
How Does Well Fracturing Work to Stimulate Production?
An explanation of a process very much in the news.
Activities
Looking Down an Oil Well
Great interactive from the U.S. Department of Energy that explains the oil drilling process.
Explore a Fracking Operation…Virtually
Very interesting interactive.
The Drilling Process
The ordered sequence from planning the well to drilling at Penn State.
Books
Petroleum by Albert Lidgett
Public domain work mostly focusing on English petroleum, but that mentions Drake’s well. The processes and uses of petroleum.
Units & Lesson Plans
Pump It Up
Lesson plan from Energy4Me.org that has students drill for oil.
Gasoline: A Unit Study
Required by cars, generators, mowers — anything that requires an engine to operate. Unit resources.
Printables & Notebooking Pages
Anatomy of an Oil Rig
Graphic for notebook.
InDepth Shale Fracking Poster
From the U.S. Department of Energy.
Drake’s Oil Well Notebooking Pages
Simple pages for copywork, narration, or wrapping up.
These units have been created specifically with do-it-yourself (DIY) homeschoolers in mind: those that don’t want a lot of hand-holding. If this doesn’t describe your need, you might prefer a few of these pre-planned units. For those brave souls who enjoy pulling things together themselves, there are many ways to use these resources!
Keep Reading
Internal Combustion Engine: A Unit Study
Versions of the internal combustion engine were being proposed as early as the 1600s. Unit resources.
A Boy’s Text Book on Gas Engines ~ Free eBook
A Boy’s Text Book on Gas Engines explains the fundamental principles very clearly — replete with diagrams.
Life Skills Checklist Ages 4–18 ~ Free!
What life skills do you want to make sure your children do not leave home without? Free life skills checklist ages 4–18.