Adventure 051, Site 158 - Mentryville

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 051, Site 158 - Mentryville

California Landmark Number: 516-2

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  October 6, 2012

Location:

Latitude: 34° 22.772′ N

Longitude: 118° 36.638′ W

Address: 27201 West Pico Canyon Roa, newhall, ca

Description:

We traveled some for this plaque. From the Pioneer Refinery plaque in Newhall, we headed directly west for about three miles. We were coming close to where we were thinking we would turn around, when we saw the buildings of Mentryville and then the plaque (516-2). Someplace out here is a second plaque (516) talking about the well which started the California Liquid Gold rush.

NO. 516-2 MENTRYVILLE - Named after pioneer oil developer Charles Alexander Mentry, who in 1876 drilled the first successful oil well in California. His restored home and barn and Felton School remain here where the Star Oil Company, one of the predecessors of Standard Oil of California, was born.
Location: 27201 W Pico Canyon Rd, 2.8 mi W of I-5, Newhall

NO. 516 WELL, CSO 4 (PICO 4) - On this site stands CSO-4 (Pico No. 4), California's first commercially productive well. It was spudded in early 1876 under direction of Demetrious G. Scofield who later became the first president of Standard Oil Company of California, and was completed at a depth of 300 feet on September 26, 1876, for an initial flow of 30 barrels of oil a day. Later that year, after the well was deepened to 600 feet with what was perhaps the first steam rig employed in oil well drilling in California, it produced at a rate of 150 barrels a day - it is still producing after 77 years (1953). The success of this well prompted formation of the Pacific Coast Oil Company, a predecessor of Standard Oil Company of California, and led to the construction of the state's first refinery nearby. It was not only the discovery well of the Newhall Field, but was a powerful stimulus to the subsequent development of the California petroleum industry.
Location: On W Pico Canyon Rd, 3.3 mi W of I-5, Newhall






References:

• Wikipedia
  
• Historical Marker Database (HMDB.org)
  
• Story of Mentryville
  
• Landmark Blogger and Song Writer
  

Overall Landmark References:

• David Schmitt's California State Historical Landmark (Schmitt)
  
• Wikipedia: California's National Landmarks (WCNL)
  
• State of California's California Historical Landmarks (CHL)
  
• Wikipedia: California State Landmarks (WCSL)
  
• State of California Historical Resources (CHR)
  
• Historical Marker Database (HMDB)