Hyde & Egbert Farm, and the McCray Tract

At Petroleum Centre, the richest producing area in 1866, two of the most notable farms were the McCray Farm on the high bluff behind the Oil Creek State Park Office and the Hyde and Egbert Farm at its base, where companies and individuals strained to secure even the smallest lease. In the spring of 1870, a 300 barrel well drilled near the McCray Farm caused James McCray to be besieged for leases, derricks quickly appeared, and every well tapped the underlying pool. Within four months, daily production reached 3,000 barrels, bringing McCray an income of $9,000 a day, and in 1871 he refused $1,000,000 for the farm. Dr. A.G. Egbert, a young physician at Cherrytree village, had bought the 38 acre Davidson farm in 1860 for $2,600 and half of the oil, then sold half the interest to Charles Hyde because he could not pay for it, naming their tract the Hyde and Egbert Farm. The farm proved prolific in wells: the Jersey Well, completed in 1863, began flowing 350 barrels a day, and the famous Coquette Well was drilled there according to a dream. Egbert’s residence was also famed as the first in the oil regions to use natural gas for lighting and heating. Probably no parcel of ground of equal size yielded a larger return, and at one time the 38 acre farms held more than 23 flowing wells.

Pennsylvania · United States