Cherry Grove Mystery Well
The true oil production from an 1882 Pennsylvania well was a closely guarded secret.
In the dense woods of Cherry Grove, Pennsylvania, in June 2025, the community celebrated the 143rd anniversary of its 19th-century well — and an oilfield’s place in American petroleum history. Led by local and visiting oil-patch historians, the Cherry Grove Old Home and Community Day featured tours of the well that once shook world petroleum markets.
When the daily oil production from the Cherry Grove “Mystery Well” on Lot 646 was revealed in 1882, oil prices plunged worldwide. Drillers of the exploratory well in the wilderness of Warren County had kept news of their oilfield discovery secret. (more…)
