| Introduction | Historical Background | Chronology | Geography | Biography | Technology | Ownership and Financing | General Bibliography |
| Middle Atlantic States | Pennsylvania | Pithole City |
Pithole City was incorporated as a borough on December 11, 1865. The charter was revoked in August, 1877.
The Pithole City Water Company was incorporated on October 24, 1865 and built a gravity system that began operating in December of that year. The company changed its name to the Pithole City Water and Gas Company in 1866.
The community was largely abandoned by 1877 when the borough's charter was revoked.
There is currently no public water supply.
References
1867 The
History of Pithole, by Charles C. Leonard
Pages 47-48: The Water Works. Among the many enterprises for
which our city is justly celebrated none are more worthy of notice than
the Pithole City Water Works. From the birth of the town there was a great
scarcity of water for drinking purposes. The elevation of land upon which
the city proper is located, together with a strata of rock immediately
beneath the surface of the soil, rendered it extremely difficult to sink
water wells. There were a few surface springs upon the hillside, but the
constant drain upon them made it impossible to supply the city with water
from this source. For many weeks pure water was retailed through the
streets for one dollar per barrel, or at ten cents a pail full. We have
seen one dollar paid for a pail of common drinking water, and ten cents a
drink was no uncommon price at that time. Water wagons constantly traveled
the streets, and filled the barrels or buckets at the different houses
with water obtained from a flowing water well on the creek. Is it to be
wondered at that water as a beverage ceased to be used in Pithole? With
whisky as cheap as “nature's fluid,” and far more plentiful, it is not
strange every man carried a bottle. “John B. Gough” would have found few
followers here in “his policy,” at that time. The Pithole City Water
Company was organized by Messrs. J. C. Cross and A. P. Hatch, and
operations commenced in September, 1865. The well and reservoir is located
on the highest point of land on the Walter Holmden farm, and overlooking
the city.
At the depth of 213 feet an excellent spring of pure water was found, and
by the 18th day of November the city was supplied with water. The Chase
House consumed the first water turned in the pipes. The diameter of the
main pipe is three inches, and it extends through all the principal
streets of the borough. Eleven thousand feet of pipe is thus used in
conveying water to all parts of the city. The size of the bore of the well
is four inches in diameter, and 15,000 barrels per day have been pumped,
although that amount is not needed for the city's use. The reservoir has a
capacity of 25,000 barrels. The whole cost of this enterprise was $25,000.
Many troubles and difficulties arose from mismanagement, and the works
were finally sold at Sheriff's sale, in May, 1866. M. M. Moore, of Erie,
was the purchaser, and now owns the same.
1879 History
of Venango County, Pennsylvania: And Incidentally of Petroleum,
Together with Accounts of the Early Settlement and Progress of Each
Township, Borough and Village, with Personal and Biographical Sketches
of the Early Settlers, Representative Men, Family Records, Etc.,
by J. H. Newton
Page 580: Pithole City City Water Works.
The place became a city of such proportions and importance as to require
the erection of water works, and operations for their construction began
in September, 1865, the enterprise costing $25,000.
1989 The
Titusville Herald, August 24, 1969, Page 20.
The Pithole City Water Company organized in September and sold stock to
raise sufficient capital to drill wells, build a reservoir on the hill
above the churches and lay pipe through the main streets of town.
The first water was run through the pipes in mid-December.
2000 Petrolia:
The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom, by Brian Black
Pages 153-154: Water provided the first opportunity for Pithole to
try to band together for its common good. Franchised on September 1, the
Pithole City Water Company began looking for water on the hills above
Morey Farm. Near the end of the month, they struck water and excavated a
25,000-gallon reservoir while also laying a system of iron pipes through
the main streets of the city. However, applications for use were only made
by businesses. From the beginning, the Pithole City Water Company proved
unable to make ends meet. Too few users were willing to pay, and
establishing town authority appealed to no one—even though such authority
would keep the mains full at night, when they were most needed for
fighting fires.
2014 The
Natural Gas Industry in Appalachia: A History from the First Discovery
to the Tapping of the Marcellus Shale, 2d ed., by David A.
Waples
Page 20: Also in 1866, the local water company changed its name to
the Pithole City Water and Gas Company.
© 2019 Morris A. Pierce