This story aired on the ONR on OETA-The Oklahoma Network. The reporter is Bob Sands; the photographer is Aaron Byrd. For more information, go to the ONR web site www.news.oeta.tv and ONR blog blog.oeta.tv/onr For more about OETA-The Oklahoma Network, visit www.oeta.tv.
The world's first reported oil well was drilled in 347 a.d. in china.
Using bits attached to bamboo poles that first well reached a depth of 800 feet.
In 1859, Pennsylvania laid claim to Americas first oil well, but at the same time Lewis Ross struck oil in the Cherokee nation while deepening his salt water well.
Oklahoma's oil boom is largely believed to have begun in Bartlesville with the first commercially producing oil well.
But if you talk to people in Chelsea, they'll tell you that well actually came in second.