Indiana Gas Boom
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The Indiana gas boom was a period of active drilling and production of natural gas in the Trenton Gas Field, in the US state of Indiana and the adjacent northwest part of Ohio. The boom began in the early 1880s and lasted into the early twentieth century. When the Indiana natural gas belt was discovered, the citizens were unaware of what they had found; nearly a decade passed without action to recover the resource. Once its significance was realized, further exploration showed the Indiana gas belt was the largest deposit of natural gas discovered until then. In addition to the massive quantity of natural gas, in the 1890s developers discovered that the field also contained the first giant oil reserve found in the United States, with an estimated one billion barrels of oil. The resource was rapidly tapped for use. Because the gas was being wasted in use, the Indiana General Assembly attempted to regulate its use. In a series of cases, the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law. The poor understanding of oil and gas wells at the time led to the loss of an estimated 90% of the natural gas by venting into the atmosphere or by widespread misuse. By 1902 the yield from the fields began to decline, leading to a switch to alternative forms of energy. With most of the gas removed from the field, there was no longer enough pressure to pump the oil out of the ground. An estimated 900 million barrels (140,000,000 m3) of oil remain in the field. Advancements in artificial lift technology have led to extraction of some of the oil, but at a relatively slow rate and high cost compared to more productive fields.

The following turn-of-the-century oil and gas leases were discovered in the Old Courthouse Records previously stored in the Decatur jail.
Click on the name to see a scan of the original document(s).

Posted 9/3/2016; updated 6/22/2023

Early Oil & Gas Leases
Lessor	Lesee	Township	# of Acres	Date
Abnet, John	Ohio Oil Company	Jefferson	80	6/13/1894
Affolder, Fred	Ohio Oil Company	Wabash	80	6/16/1894
Allison, R K	Ohio Oil Company	Wabash & Monroe	260	6/11/1894
Aumiller, Hattie & George	Ohio Oil Company	Wabash	10	6/15/1894
Barkalow, D & S E	Ohio Oil Company	Wabash	40	6/14/1894
Beitler, Lawrence	Henry Risch	Monroe	40	6/28/1894
Campbell, Eli & Jacbo Menical	L G Collie	Jefferson		6/1/1906	Well #1 - Section 21, Range 15
Duey, Margaret	Spear Gamble Co			7/10/1890
Eley, Margaret & William A	Ohio Oil Company	Monroe	50	6/16/1894
Emenhiser, Stephen	Ohio Oil Company	Wabash	80	6/14/1894
Ensley, Catherine	Ohio Oil Company	Hartford	57	12/28/1892
Fogle, Jacob & Barbara	Ohio Oil Company	Jefferson	32	6/18/1894
Galloway, Ida M & J R	Ohio Oil Company	Jefferson	15	6/13/1894
Gillion, Peter & Wife	Ohio Oil Company	Wabash & Monroe	67	6/14/1894
Gottschalk, Andrew & Laura	Henry S Risch	Monroe	80	6/29/1909	Section 34, Range 14
Harvey, D T	Bole Oil Company	Monroe	160	3/3/1903	Section 7 & 8 Range 14
Lehman, David C & Elizabeth	Henry S Risch	Monroe	100	6/28/1909	Section 27 & 28, Range 14
Lehman, Ulrich & Judith	Henry S Risch	Monroe	80	6/28/1909	Section 34, Range 14
Lenning, Jasper & Eve	Eastern Oil Company	Wabash	40	5/2 1903	Section 18, Range 15
Liechty, Emanuel J & Anna J	Henry S Risch	Monroe	80	6/28/1909	Section 27, Range 14
Lindsey, Amos	Ohio Oil Company	Jefferson	80	3/10/1893
Lindsey, Amos & Wife	Ohio Oil Company	Jefferson	80	6/7/1894
Maloney, Joseph & John Bebout		Jefferson		8/7/1906	Well #1 - Township 25, Range 14
Manley, J C & Minerva	W B Westgate	Wabash	40	3/3/1909
Neuenschwander, Jacob & Elizabeth	Joe J Risch, trustee	Monroe	80	5/4/1909	Section 26 & 27, Range 14
Nusbaum, Benjamin & Elizabeth	Henry S Risch	Monroe	20	6/28/1909	Section 27, Range 14
Peel, John M	Ohio Oil Company	Wabash	25	6/15/1894
Sehman, Joel & Anna	Henry S Risch	Monroe	60	6/29/1909
Sprunger, Joshua	Henry S Risch	Monroe	20	6/29/1909	Range 14
Wheeler, J R	T B Westgate	Wabash	80	3/2/1909