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California Petroleum Company Stock Certificate--Ojai--California's First Gusher! [165297]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Stock & Bond - Industrial Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,000.00 USD
California Petroleum Company Stock Certificate--Ojai--California's First Gusher! [165297]
SOLD
200.00USD+ (50.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Jun 15 @ 14:16UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Rare and historically significant. First one we have offered! This company, owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, drilled wells at Ojai near Buenaventura in Santa Barbara County, California. This 18,000 acre area (Ojai ranch) owned by the company had been scouted by Benjamin Silliman in 1864 and he concluded "its value is its almost fabulous wealth in the best of oil." Ojai No. 6 was located by Thomas R. Bard of the California Petroleum Company. Mr. Bard, age 26, came to California from Pennsylvania in 1865 representing T.A. Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the California Petroleum Company. In May 1867, "the California Petroleum Company brought in "Ojai No. 6" at a depth of 550 feet. W.W. Orcutt described it as "The first well drilled for oil in California that yielded extended commercial production." It was the first producing well drilled by mechanical power and the first to flow by its own energy. It is regarded as the forerunner of the state's oil bonanza. When the California Petroleum Company suspended operations, No. 6 played a part in the formative years of the Union Oil Company, of which Mr. Bard was the first President." [State Historical Marker]

This is stock no. 738. Issued for 5 shares to Herman L. Duhring in New York in July 1867. Signed by president John P. Green and secretary PH Turey. Not cancelled. Black border and print with two vignettes: oil field with derricks (top center) and California state seal (bottom center). Printed by Hatch & Co., NY. 25 cent US IR stamp attached at upper right. Folds, hole in stock, small tears and discoloration. 6 x 11" John P. Green served during the Civil War as a captain of the Union Army with a volunteer association of riflemen headed by General Thomas L. Kane. After the war, Green began working as a secretary for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He eventually worked his way up to the position of vice president in 1907.

Date: 1867
Country (if not USA):
State: California
City: Santa Barbara County
Provenance: Ken Prag Collection