Correspondence and research files concerning the oil and natural gas industries in New York state

Arranged loosely by subject or type of record; correspondence thereunder alphabetical by name of correspondent or in reverse chronological order.

This series consists of correspondence, notes, reports, well logs, and maps mostly relating to oil and natural gas production in New York State.

Most of the files were created by two Geological Survey geologists whose specialties were "economic geology": Chris A. Hartnagel and William L. Kreidler. These files provide information on the identification and location of oil and natural gas fields and the extent of commercial development in these fields. The records also document the dissemination of information to oil and natural gas firms, other scientists, and landowners.

The correspondence files contain the following kinds of information: assessments of the potential for oil or natural gas occurence at specific localities; natural gas use and production in New York; probable depth of oil or gas bearing formations at specific locations; cooperation of oil and natural gas well drilling companies in forwarding data on well locations, depths, and drilling logs; laws regulating the drilling of oil and natural gas wells; and the use of well flooding techniques to increase production.

Separate files contain correspondence, notes, and reports concerning two specific data gathering activities: an "Oil Survey" of oil well locations and descriptions, 1921-1927; and the operation of a field office of the Geological Survey at Wellsville, 1950-1959.

Other kinds of records included in this series are: well logs giving the depths at which different formations or oil/gas pools were encountered during drilling; well descriptions, often giving a summary of the drilling and production history of specific wells; well location maps; topographic maps of dam sites and watersheds; geologic maps of New York and Canada; newspaper clippings; correspondence concerning geological field work unrelated to oil and gas; fragmentary geological field notes of George H. Chadwick; and manuscript on the geology of Ontario County by D. Dana Luther (1885).

Container list.

Some of this material was received unsolicited and unappraised from the Geological Survey in September 1985. It was appraised with related records in February 1987 and accessioned March 13, 1987.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.