The great Sussex County oil boom that quickly became a bust

An 85-foot-tall derrick drilled relentlessly over 500 feet below the surface of an apple orchard near Bridgeville. On Sunday, March 25, 1934, an explosive geyser blew the casting pipe 162 feet in the air.

From the wellhead poured mostly natural gas accompanied by oil. Not a lot, but it was oil.

A derrick on an apple orchard, in search of Sussex County oil

The Cleveland Petroleum Corporation had been exploring the possibility that pools of oil existed below the surface of Sussex County farmland between Bridgeville and Milford. The company had erected the derrick on the apple orchard jointly owned by Clayton A. Bunting and United States Sen. George G. Townsend, Jr. The company also began to buy up mineral rights for the surrounding farmland.

Mired in the Great Depression, the cash-starved farmers of Sussex County jumped at the deal. By May 1934, the Cleveland Petroleum Corporation had closed on 386 leases covering 40,000 acres of Delaware farmland for a dollar an acre and a one-eighth share of the profits from the oil and gas that was discovered.

Bunting was quoted in the New York Times, “I’ve got a lease which guarantees me a share of the profits if the well should prove a success. The people drilling tell me the farm lies over a lake of natural gas and oil extending 25 miles north of the town. I am told the company has leased thousands of acres of adjoining lands so that nobody else can cut in on them.”

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Oil only to fill less than a soda bottle, but still a 'Big 3 Day Celebration'

Other oil companies were quick to get into the action. On July 12, the Smyrna Times reported, “Every indication now appears that the town of Bridgeville will experience a boom. It was learned this week that no less than 14 oil companies have been attracted to this section, and that these companies now have their representatives leasing land.” The newspaper predicted “that at least 40 derricks will be erected to work in these fields.”

The oil found so far was not enough to fill a soda bottle, but sensing an opportunity to make Bridgeville the center of a booming oil industry, the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a “Big 3 Day Celebration” to acquaint the public with the discovery of oil. According to a large ad in the Smyrna Times, the event offered free lunches and free band concerts each day of the celebration.

According to the ad, “Drilling is progressing rapidly and a gusher is expected in the immediate future. ... During this celebration property will be sold at auction in the New Oil Belt. Home sites, small farms, industrial sites and business locations.” The ad further claimed, “You can make money but cannot lose the principal invested. We need hotels, restaurants, stores and business of all kinds. Mr. Businessman come here at once.”

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Sussex County oil boom was over almost as soon as it started

After finding the first traces of oil to fill a half a soda bottle, the test well continued to drill at the Bunting and Townsend orchard. The oil flowed at a rate of only three barrels a day and was not profitable.

The company moved the derrick to another location; but this, too, failed to strike enough oil to keep the drill operating. Finally, the derrick was disassembled, carted away, and the Sussex County oil boom was over.

A year later, the Delaware Coast News reported on the annual meeting of the American Petroleum Institute, where the Axtell J. Byles, president of the institute, remarked, “Crude oil reserves now are larger than ever before, and supplies of petroleum products sufficient to meet demand for centuries are available from oil, coal and shale.”

The institute was confident that there was plenty of oil in the ground, just not in Sussex County.

Principal sources:

Smyrna Times. March 28, 1934; July 12, 1934; August 12, 1934.

New York Times, May 10, 1934.

Delaware Coast News, December 6, 1935.

Richard B. Carter, Clearing New Ground, The Life of John G. Townsend Jr. Wilmington: Delaware Heritage Press, 2001, pp. 449-451.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: The great Sussex County oil boom that quickly became a bust