Thornhill Mansion

Thornhill Mansion. . , William Cooper Stiles, Jr. July 27, 1939 – December 17, 1896. , William Cooper Stiles, Jr., born in Philadelphia on July 27, 1839, was one of the earliest operators in the West Virginia and Ohio oil fields. , In 1863 Mr. Stiles invested a considerable sum of money to drill test wells near Fifteen Mile Creek in Ohio, but found no oil, and returned to Philadelphia a wiser and poorer man. Not to be deterred, Mr. Stiles traveled to the White Oak region of WV in 1864 where he purchased several thousand acres and began drilling. , After an ominous start, Mr. Stiles made a major strike and later revolutionized the oil industry through the introduction of the endless cable pumping system, an application conceived from the cable system powering streetcars in Philadelphia. , Mr. Stiles built the Volcanic Oil and Coal Company into a major force in the local oil industry. In 1866 at a cost of $160,000, he was the driving force in the building of the Laurel Fork and Sand Hill Railroad, a standard gauge rail system for transporting oil to refineries in Parkersburg. , For his major contributions to Volcano, Mr. Stiles was known as the “father of Volcano.” He also served as a county commissioner from 1881 to 1885. , W. C. Stiles, Jr., died at his beloved Thornhill on December 17, 1896. After his death, in 1896 Robert and Samuel, his sons, assumed operation of the entire estate and split their time between Volcano and Parkersburg. , Ella Magill Stiles, July 7, 1839 – March 8, 1875. , Ella Magill married William Cooper Stiles, Jr., on September 4, 1861 in Philadelphia, PA just a few months after the start of the Civil War. Mrs. Stiles died unexpectedly in March of 1875 at Thornhill after living there for less than a year. She died of hydrothorax, a buildup of fluid around the lungs. Mrs. Styles was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, PA. Ella gave William six children with four living to adulthood. , Edward Magill , September 6, 1862 , December 12, 1865 , Robert Gratz , August 20, 1863 – February 10, 1926 , Charlotte McKaraher , December 30, 1864 – July 27, 1879 , Ella Virginia , May 2, 1967 – September 14, 1937 , Albert Magill , November 28, 1870 – September 18, 1938 , Samuel Brown , April 7, 1873 – Ausust 27, 1953. , Thornhill Agricultural Production for 1879. , Acreage. Tilled acres includding fallow and grass in rotation: 66 . Permanent meadow, pasture, orchard or vineyard: 20 . Wooded and forest: 322 , Value. Farm, including land, fence and buildings: $25,000 . Implements and machinery: $1,000 . Livestock: $2,500 . Cost of building and repairing fences in 1979: $100 . Cost of fertilizer purchased in 1979: $200 . Amount paid for labor in 1879 to include boarding: $3,600 . Estimated value of farm production in 1879: $4,000 , Grasslands. Mown acres in 1979: 20 . Not mown acres in 1879: 30 . Hay: 20 , Animals. Horses: 10 . Working oxen: 2 . Milk cows: 8 . Calves dropped: 7 . Cows purchased: 100; Cows slaughtered: 100. , Miscellaneous. Butter made on the farm in 1879: 600 . Sheep and lambs on hand: 250 . Lambs dropped: 32 . Lambs purchased: 50 . Sold living: 1 . Slaughtered: 50 . Killed by Dogs: 1 . Died from disease: 2 . Sheep clipped spring of 1880: 1,000 . Swine: 12 , (A 1941 article by Richard Sutter in the Parkersburg News titled “Mosses on the Old Manse at Volcano” is reprinted on the left side of this sign. See photograph No. 3)