King's Business - 1958-02

The partners had drilled six wells, spent about every cent they owned and had yet to produce oil

organized two small banks, one at Eldred, Pa. and the other in Salina, Kan., had borrowed to the limit. He had drawn so heavily on the Eldred Bank that the cashier was protesting in almost every mail and warned that the depositors were getting wind of Hardison’s overdrafts. Stewart went to his friend Blake and laid their trouble on the table, holding nothing back. He pointed out to Blake that they had drilled all their wells on terri­ tory yet unproved and asked permission of him to allow them to drill somewhere in proved terri­ tory. Blake was very sympathetic with their problems, knowing that they were both substan­ tial, hard-working expe r i enc ed oil men. He arranged for them to drill again in Pico Canyon but some distance from their first five "dusters” which they had drilled in that area. This was their last chance; if this failed they were through. Here they drilled "Star No. One.” This well was to become one of the most important wells in Cali­ fornia oil history because without it the now gigantic Union Oil Company might never have been formed. At the 1,620-foot level the bit hit oil. When they installed their pumping equipment it produced 75 barrels a day, an unusually good well for California in those days. Because the two partners had no capital with which to develop their oil, they were forced to sell Star No. One outright. As it turned out, the well eventually dropped to half its original pro­ duction and later proved to be on the outer fringe- of a pool. This would have meant that the part­ ners would have gone broke had they tried to drill other wells in the area. They looked around for lands which they could buy with the money derived from the sale of their well. The broad valley of the Santa Clara River reminded them of the Venango Valley in Pennsyl­ vania. With their returns from Star No. One, they made the down payment on mineral rights to several thousand acres in Adams and Wheeler Canyons and the Salt Marsh area back of Santa Paula. Using as collateral the land on which they had made down payment, the partners borrowed money to get together equipment and men to drill once more. They managed to drill an even dozen wells in 1884, but hard luck still plagued them. The oil from their first wells in Adams

Stewart the choice of any of the leases. After looking over the Pico Canyon properties on at least three occasions, Stewart longed to talk over things with his old partner Wallace Hardison, who at that time was beginning life anew as a rancher in Kansas. Stewart wired Hardison in Kansas asking if he would be interested in joining him in an oil hunt, this time in California. Less than a day after he sent his wire a message came back from Hardison. In his usual crisp manner Hardison asked no questions; he merely gave the date on which he would arrive in Los Angeles to start operations. That was all the negotiating or con­ ferring the pair did to launch their second part­ nership in the oil business. Meantime, Lyman Stewart selected a site for their initial well, pick­ ing a location on Christian Hill in Pico Canyon where there had been no previous drilling. With hopes running high, Hardison and Stewart started their first well. When they reached the 1,850-foot level, they ran into trouble. Their tools were lost and they were unable to fish them out. All the way down there had been no showing of oil of any kind. The partners decided to chalk the failure up to experi­ ence. Well No. One was abandoned. Their trou­ bles were just beginning. After five dry holes they decided to move from Christian Hill to the vicinity of Tar Creek or Santa Paula Creek where they might find more promising spots. This time they very carefully selected their location on Tar Creek and called it "Smith Farm No. One.” After reaching the depth of 1,520 feet, the sides of the well began to cave in. The rope broke and left the tools in the well and dirt buried the tools. They fished for three weeks but failed to recover them. The well had to be abandoned. The partners had drilled six wells and had yet to produce their first barrel of oil. They had spent about every cent they owned, but they still had their drilling rights and plenty of courage plus the optimism that goes with oil fever. In despera­ tion, they moved the rig to a spot on Santa Paula Creek. Their "Santa Paula No. One” was another dry hole, the seventh in a row. The partners took stock of the situation. They had exhausted their capital. Hardison, who had

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