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Show Bistory History Historyof of Moab , , Utah UtahBy Utahp Utaho Utahc _ By Faun McConkie Tanner TannerCopyright - ( Copyright 1937)CHAPTER 1937) 1937 1937)CHAPTER ) CHAPTER 9URCES 9URCES 9 URCES AND INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRJAL ; DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENTo1ume ' " Xl volume rolume o1ume hydrocarbonfound and diffeient dIffel ent varieties of hydro-carbon hydro carbon - - found in the Colorado river drainage dramage basin canbe canrbe can ] rbe beecelled be excelled e\celled e celled ece1led \ by no other place in the world . In the thetry theiitry thelutry iitry try these take the form of oil deposits which havepreted havepected have havepttted pttted preted pected sUfficientlyto sufficiently , to determine their presence and ands andenear enear s near the close of the nineteenth century a search searcherclal searchercia1 searchicrcial erclal ercia1 quantities quantIfIes of oil 011 and gas has been earnedKtheastem carrIed carrIedljtheastem carriedtheastern sporadicw sporadicUs sporadici3 ljtheastem theastern [ Utah . In spite of many failures fa1lures sporadic Us Uscontmued i3 Continuedup continued contmued up to the present time . ' Greenrlver0Jut frIyas ! "ly ly " r1y as 1891 a wellwas well was drilled in the Greenrlver Greenriver Greenriver1itforty Greennver"rot Greennverrot ' 0Jut " 1itforty forty miles northwest of the Moab district andw and and.i .i i . ensum ensuing decade some three more were drilled . ellJ ellJa ell e11 , a few fev miles southwest of Cisco , was drilled drilledof drilledTj theWed thedrilled ofeighteen of eighteen hundred feet in 1900 and was th the ) lIlledIn drilledin drilled lIlled in or near the Moab IVloab district . . < 1S10 10 10a a Pennsylvania Pennsylvama company was granted an 011 oil oilPect oil.Wect oilWect . pect the Moab activity . Renewed activity "as as w " asin as asin : in m the Greennver Greenrlver Greenriver desert area . Nothing N othmg more than"oil thanoil than thano thanDil ' ; " o Dil Dilwas was found in m any of the wells although someencountered someiCOtifltered some somecountered encountered countered iCOtifltered in one or two . ig rng startedm Startedin started in m the vicinity of Crescent , a few mIles mIlesOInPSO)1s milesI milesUOfllSQfls . severalr several'ebeen miles'ysons milesysons ' OInPSO)1s OInPSO1s UOfllSQfls ) ( Grand county ) in 1920 and several16.been several16been several I r ' 'ebeen ebeen been . drilled dnlled . Oil and gas showings showmgs were encoun- encoun encoufl- encoufl encoune encoufl4p encoun-hSl encoun hSl - - - ! e ewells wells 115 of the Crescent-Eagle Crescent Eagle - Oil Company and'cL and 4p 4pewells andSyndicate 'cL cL ' : Syndic Syndicate yndlcate . Thw The- The TheWestern . - Western Allies-Big Allies Big Allies - - Big Six wellH wella wellu1 well IHlUctn . . . . u1 to a o or - -r r - tl c i .11- .11 .11i -i i - ic -c c ' r - L-'Dth L 'Dth Dth ' - depth ' - H fiftyoab of ( Vr tv-o tv o t'wo two tvtn . - thousand rnnii'cnnn rnniicnnn ' four + niii hundred fifty theLthe , oab oabvalley valley gave 011 oil and gas showings . Later in the theroa Lthe roa : roaBIg BIg Eig SIX 011 Oil Company started another well in innt inCated riverered riveratered Cated Catedon ted tedon on the west bank of the Colorado river nt ntted atered ateredseveral ered eredseveral wasbe several severalshowl)1gs severalshovings showl)1gs showl1gs shovings ) of gas and 011 oil . . Work was waso wasI wast I beenOier t be resumed III in 1926 after oil findmgs findings had been beento o Oier er erells \\ells ells 'sells sells \ ' . The about aboutlEarS ! to toer ten about1irs , , " JLHC well wen was WHS abandoned < waiiuuutu ; after aj-i-ci aj i ci - - . "v v " " < lEarS 1irs rs of drilling . 111a ie iek ie'tas rgY k : \'tas 'tas tas \ ' Startednear started , , near Cisco in 1921 and numerou1 numerous numerousn numerousen numerousgE ? en "nlled nlled drtlled drilled " since mnce aince which have produced gas and anderable am amti n gE gEen ti te tite tecitement U erable 1924ahO1l le excitement citement was created in October . . . of 192 1924 1924of < of ofOIl ahO1l milesCISCO OIl OilRennim Refining Company's Companys - ' well - about ten miles milesf milesISCO imOLga CISCO ISCO , blew In October eleventh , wIth an 1m- 1m im- im 1mon - - f on OLga thRas athousand of hYdro-carbon hYdro carbon hydrocarbn - origin , encountered at a hghfusand thousand nine hundred sb.ty sbty sixty . feet . The gas was wasIfoU wasUtfliflg IfoU IfoUmng Utfliflg mng October 13 ' , and the fire could be seen seenIt seenit 1 t-K t K It . it , - It Itnd I Iud nd ud ? , requllmg requiiing I K the the'services theservices services of au an expert to ex- ex exg ex"as exm exsa ex - - - "as as " "as as " sa estImated timated b by m byas that the pressure generated : g tirt08 t tas as ? was 5 around ound two thousand five hundred hundre < : . 9 9t " t the flow would measure 150,000 150000 , cubic feet fee fee'UiSP 'UiSP UiSP ' field fieldnear commercialthon.blaek near clsco CISCO was fwrl found to have commercia commercial commerciaDiack , l'bon.black lbon.black lbonblack thon.blaek thonblaek ' thon.blaeknil1 " ' - . -Diack Diack miU mill nil1 was built and the gas used in inrre i ; , - - tdPO re of ofcarbon o A-p A p ApT - - -T T - 1 1 < - , . - n n.1 . ? _ ! --.1 .1 - - . 1 ; T- T T1 - carbon light lightdede lightldJ.h0uses r rre ui i , ' " "uii uii " black UIUUK . It 11 also aisu furnished im.iiio- im.iiio . " ' - " " & " ldJ.h0uses ldJh0uses dede ' . houses im.iiiohouses nearby . Activity of the mill has now nowkll noi kWU kll kll0Wfl : thet1C1iie . own 0Wfl as the thg th Frank Fl"ank Flank " Shafer luifer No.1 No1 No . 1 , on the tl ticline bchne t1C1iie twelve twelveSouthab twelvewas tweP'South0 twePSouth0 e 1 1bchne , on 011 oi the Colorado river about ' Southab ' , was Parted started in the winter of 1924-25 1924 25 - by ItR v 8 19i iQ jr ? " 1 . a and ? d Midwest Midsvest Exploration companies . On Onthe Onc1 Ci the the-'this the 'this this c1this c1 - ' thlS this wel1 well vell blew in with the greatest 011 oil 011g oilate ( h . h htels ol-ates ol ates ta - ate tels history-Utah's history Utah's Utahs histoiyTJtah's histoiyTJtahs hictnwTT4-o'h hictnwTT4 o'h oh - . . - _ _ - , ' > ' first fl oil oil . gusher rmahpr- rmahpr rmahprT , . - The The'eysertwohundred T e ' Silica Silicaw.l.j g ke Theke " -w.l.j wl.j w.l.j wlj - l > lttttj3 AlJ-Ub AlJ Ub - UH t- t tgeyser ' - * " " ' ' _ S " a hundn hundred 'eysertwohundred eysertwohundred geyser two hundred to three _ | ( < Continued on last page ) ' A History o of MoabContinued Moab MoabContinued ( Continued from first page pagc ) feet hhrhWag highwas high hhrh was Wag estimated to be spouting spoutin in excess ehcess of five fivehundl fivehundred fivebundled hundred hundl eel barrels ban barl els . The oil burst into flames when the spoutel spouter spoutercame spouleicame spoutelcame came in m , demolishing demolIshmg demohshmg the derrick derl'1ck derl1ck ' . The fire was etmgUlshed e\trrsgulshed e trrsgulshed etmgUlshedafter etrrsgulshedafter extinguishedafter ' ( \ after a ten-day ten day - battle . This rrhls well produced a hu laige large ge quantity of high grade oil oilestimated oilestimated oilestimated ( estimated to flow at the rate of one thousand four hundred hundredbalrels hundredbarrels hundredbairels balrels barrels daily dally ) before it was brought under control . . The well wellatilacted wellattracted wellatti atilacted attracted acted wide attention attentlon , due to its lis unique umque location at the thebottom thebottom thebottom bottom of the liver l1ver river canyon and to the fact that the oil Oll was wascomIng wascoming wascoming comIng from a salt foimation fOlmation formation in the lower Pennsylvanian Pennsylvanianseries Pennsylvanianseries Pennsylvanianseries series . . W Within Wlthm , thrn a few days after the gusher blew in there was wasconsiderable wasconsiderable wasconsiderable considerable activity in 111 the vicinity vicmity of Moab IVloab , with eVIdence eVIdenceof evidenceof of a 1 leal real eal oil 011 boom . The intelest interest Intel est lasted for some time . How How- Iiow- Iiow Iioweer HowI Howeer However - I ever e\-er e er eer \ - % , due to inability inablhty to secure a successful water shutoff shutoffthe shutoffthe shutoffthe the well was drilled drdled to a final depth of five thousand feet feetwIth feetwith feetwith wIth several showings of oil 011 and gas but inability mablhty to solve solvethe solvethe solvethe the casing problems made it impossible for operators to de- de determi1e determirje de determine - termine termi1e termirje } the real worth of the discovery discoverj . although several severalflow severalflow severalflow flow tests indicated appro approximately imately fifty barrels productionan production an hour . The well produced sufficient oil 011 for the drilling drIlhng of ofanother ofanother ofanother another well on the flank of the same structure . The well wellas wellwas wellwas \\-as as was \ - plugged with cement and lead in 1928 after the casing casinghad casinghad casinghad had collapsed and production had been shut off by the re- re recrystallization recrystallization re-crystallization re crystallization - - crystallization of salt in the well and a.nd . tubing tubmsr . A number slumber of wells have been drilled in m the nearby nearbyvJCinity nearbyvicinity nearbyvicinity vJCinity vicinity , some of which have been abandoned and some closed closedin closedin closedin in as private operations have been indefinitely mdefinitely suspended by bythe bythe bythe the government . Economic conditions prevented new d1illmg drilling di tiling for several severalyears severalyears years but 1935 saw lenev.eddctivIty renewedactivity lenewed lenev.ed leneved renewed . activity dctivIty and'ho and \ who \\'ho 'ho ho \ ' knows but by byplofitmg byprofiting bypiofitmg plofitmg profiting by past e expeiience pellence perrence and with the aid ot of SCIence scienceoperators , operators may yet find oil 011 and gas ga of ( ' commeicial 'ommelcial ommelcial commercial value m in mthe inthe inthe the vicinity vIcimty of \ Moab l\Ioab l Ioab and Giand Gland Grand county . One of the growing grO\ymg grO ymg \ industiies indushies industries of southeastern Utah is isthat isthat isthat that of Tourist traffic . The story is 15 told of another SC scenic I1JC section of the state statethat , byI that in the eaily eally settlement of southern Uah a lancher rancher by bythe bythe bythe I BlyceI the name of Bryce owned land in the now famous Blyce BsYce BsYceCanyon BiyceCanyon I Canyon 1 legion eglOn . For years he lived hved within wlthm the shadow of all allthe allthe allthe the splendour to be found there and could see no beauty in in'It init init 'It It ' . . To him Itas it \ - was \\-as as a pretty bad place to lose a cow . The old oldadage oldadage oldadage adage adageHDIstance "Distance Distance HDIstance " lends enchantment to the eye " seems ever everb evertrue evertiue b true ue . It seems to take theHah's the "ah's ahs Hah's Hahs " ' " and "oh's ohs " ' " of wondelment wondeiment wondelmentflom wondeimentfrom wondeimentfiom flom from distant people to awaken us to the beauties and andwonders andwonders andwonders wonders that lie he within our own backyards . Bryce Canyon has now been made a national park and andits andits Its fame has spread far and wide . . So also have other sec- sec sechons sections sec sections - tions hons of our state been set aside as park areas and thousands thousands thousands - - ands of people annually tl tiek trek ek to these scenic scemc centers , the thenumber thenumber thenumber number 1l1cleasing increasing inci easing as impioved Imploved improved loads ioads and tianspoitatron tianspoitatronmake hanspOl tianspoitationmake tatlOn tatlOnmake make them more available . . Southeastein Southeasteln Southeastern Utah has been a little slow In coming to tothe tothe tothe the front but the citizejny ClttZe.nlY ClttZenlY citizenry . are awakening to the possibIlitIes possibIlitIesthat possibilitiesthat possibilitiesthat that he lie within their reach and this gives eveiy evelY every evidence of ofbecommg ofbecoming ofbecoming becommg becoming a profitable industry and souice SOUlce source of levenue revenue . . The lesources resources and industnal mdustual rndustlral giowth glowth of a communitycould commumty community commumtycould communitycould could not be discussed without giving consideration to the thevauous thevarious thevanous vauous various business buS'mess buSmess ' concerns and activities acttvItIes which al aie are e carried carriedon on within that community , such as banking Olganizations organizations oiganizationsmerchants , merchants , etc . In this particular discussion , considelation consideration considelation111 considerationwill consideiationwill \\111 111 will \ \ be given the newspaper and publication office as an impos im- im impOl im-poitant im poitant - pOl pos tant taut social development as this is lS particularly importantin ImportantIII importantill Important III ill foimulatmg fOlmulatmg formulating public pubhc opinion Opll1l0n oprmon . . Telephone communication was established with the theoutside theoutside theoutside outside world as early as 1897hen 1897 \ when \\hen hen \ the line was put in infrom infrom infrom i from Thompsons to Moab . The line was completed to Mon IVlon- IVlon IVlonttcello Mon- Mon Monticello Monticello - - I ticello ttcello m 111 in 1908 . At the present time the Midland Telephone TelephoneCompany TelephoneCompany I Company TelephoneCompany opeiates opelates operates day and night service from Grand Junc Junc- JunctlOn Junc- Junc JunctionColorado Junction - - I JuncI tionColorado ! tion tlOn , Coloiado ColOlado to Moab and beyond thiough thlOUgh through Monticello IVlontIcello to toBlandmg toBlanding toBlanding Blandmg Blanding . For many years the inhabitants of \ Mab 1\Iab 1 Iab and the sur- sur surloundmg surrounding sur-loundmg sur loundmg - loundmg rounding region were fOl foiced forced ced to do their banking bankmg either with withdistant withdistant withdistant distant institutions mstItutions or m in the proverbial "sock sock " " . Seeing the theneed theneed theneed need and oppoitunity oppoltumty opportunity , a gioup glOUp group of local business men took tookthe tookthe tookthe the matter under consideration and plans were made for forthe forthe forthe the organization organizatlOn of a local bank . Thus , in 1n 1915 the MoabState MoabState Moab IState State Bank \ was \ as organized , capitalized capItahzed at $25,000 25000 $ , . The fol- fol following fol following - - Ilowmg folIlowmg lowing president wel weie were e elected to serve : F . B . . Hammond , Sr . , presi presi- presi- presi - - dent ; R . L . Kirk , vice president ; Glen J < L . Hudson , cashier cashierand cashierand cashierand and as additional dllectors-'V dllectors 'V V directors-W directors W dneetors - ' W . . E . Goidon GOldon Gordon , , J . P . Miller , C C.A CA . A . . Johnson , Glen J . Hudson and John Jackson . This bank banklemained bankremained banklemained lemained remained in opeiation opelation operation until 1921 when it closed its doors doorsfailing , failIng to reopen the theieafter thereafter ! eafter . . Early in m 1916 twenty citizens made application for a acharter acharter acharter charter of a First National Bank of Moab with $50,000 50000 $50,000capItal $50,000capital $50,000capital 50000capital $ , capItal . . The charter was granted in December of the same sameyear sameyear sameyear year and the fOl foity-four foity four forty-four forty ty-four ty four - stockholder stockholdel stockholders s elected the following followingofficers followingofficers followingofficers officers : D . L . Goudelock , president , H . G . Grew Green and D . M M.Cooper MCooper . Cooper , vice-piesidents vice piesidents vlce-plesIdents vlce plesIdents vice-presidents |