The Oil Fever Hits Grant County
Local boosters are placing their bets on a new drilling operation, hoping to strike it rich just outside of town.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A party of local men visited the oil well Sunday and returned enthusiastic over the showing already made and the prospects for further finds. Interest in the proposition, both at home and in the surrounding country, has been steadily growing and stock has been very generously subscribed for. The immense importance of this proposition, if it should prove of value, has impressed our people to such an extent that they are subscribing for stock to enable the company to make a thorough test of the matter. Col. J. S. Fenn of Spokane, a prominent oil and gas man, was here again Sunday and left on Monday for Ellensburg where the company expects to make the purchase of a drilling outfit. It is expected that the flow of gas already found will be sufficient for the operation of the drilling and the expense of operation will be comparatively small. Even if the drilling operations develop nothing but an artesian well it will be important for the development of this section of the country.
“The immense importance of this proposition, if it should prove of value, has impressed our people to such an extent that they are subscribing for stock.”
This early 20th-century boom mentality reflects the perennial cycle of natural resource speculation in the high desert of Central Washington. While the 'oil fever' of 1916 never materialized into a major industry, the local eagerness to fund exploration shows how small towns historically sought independence through the promise of hidden underground wealth.
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