Boomtown District

Boomtown District. . , The Oil Derrick and Blacksmith Shop are not original to the Wood County Infirmary site, but represent Wood County's Oil Boom period and are used for educational demonstrations. The derrick is originally from Ryerson, Pennsylvania. The steam engine, boiler, and drilling components were a gift from the Allen County Museum in 1996. , The Wood County Oil Boom began around 1885 providing what seemed an endless amount of oil and natural gas from the ground, until it ended around 1915. During the boom, a standard drilling rig could drill 1,300-1,400 feet into the ground, and with the pressure of natural gas, oil was forced out of the well and captured in wooden holding tanks. , The boiler provided steam to the steam engine, which ran the drilling machinery below the oil derrick. Controls on the drilling platform allowed the driller to control the direction and speed of the steam engine to lower or raise the tools into and out of the well. Drill bits and bit extensions are stored next to the derrick. , When the gas pressure in the ground was no longer high enough to lift oil to the tanks, extra power was needed from the Power House. The band wheel inside was connected to a pump jack at each well, and with an engine powered by the remaining natural gas in the ground, the oil pumping process could continue. The machinery in this building could pump 40 wells within a mile from the building in all directions. , The blacksmith shop was needed to sharpen drill bits and repair any parts of the drilling or pumping machinery. Inside is a working forge and early 20th century tools. The building was once owned by the Asmus family and used as a granary, or storage building of threshed grain.