While some claims of prior art do exist (e.g., Bóbrka, Poland in 1854, Wietze, Germany in 1857, Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada in 1858), the Drake Well at Titusville was the first well to be widely copied.
# "Do It Once and Do It Again" by Terry Howard explains the development of an oil well in Wietze and the subsequent difficulties of a French agent.
Wietze |