E.W. Marland was the antithesis of a rugged Oklahoma
cowboy - an anglophile favoring English fox hunting, Norfolk jackets
and knickers. But, these refined duds and pastimes did little to
conceal Marland's true nature, a rough and tumble oil explorer with
a penchant for risks, the bigger the better.
After losing his luck in the oilfields of
Pennsylvania, Marland headed west to Ponca City, a small Oklahoma
trading town "no more than a wide place in the road," an early
company employee recalled. Marland made several excursions to the
famed 101 Miller
Brothers Ranch in search of oil, convinced immense deposits
lay beneath. Geology was his divining rod, he said, a science yet to
be proven in the hunt for crude.
Marland and the Millers met with White Eagle, Chief
of the Ponca and emerged with permission to drill off the crest of
the hill on an allotment owned by the Ponca Indian, Willie-Cries.
For a $1,000 annual payment and a 12.5% override, a lease was
obtained from Willie-Cries, and on June 11, 1911, that well
“Willie-Cries-For-War” struck oil and stayed in production until
1976, bringing wealth to the company and its investors.
“I have slept in the derrick of many a discovery well - gone for
a week at a time without even taking my boots off, wet to the
skin in freezing weather - meals out of a dinner pail - and loved
it for the excitement it gave and the sense of satisfaction that
came from tapping a treasure house of nature, filled with liquid
gold.” - E.W. Marland.
Left - E.W. Marland, at his first Oklahoma
well, “Willie Cries.” This discovery in 1911 opened up a new empire
for production. The real oil development of central Oklahoma dates
from the day when this well came in.
Above - E.W. Marland's first Oklahoma well,
“Willie Cries.”
E.W. Marland -
The Oil Man
E. W. Marland was considered to be a maverick by many oilmen of
his day. Others saw him as an innovative leader. He was the first
to believe in geology as a tool to help discover oil and his methods
proved to be effective. His geology department launched an innovative
drilling experiment - core drilling - which became a major operation.
Marland brought the seismograph from Germany and had a two year
jump on the industry in the use of this geophysical method of
locating favorable structures.
NOTE:
This site is provided by the Ponca City Publishing