Photos submitted to Times Observer Young visitors peer into the “Burning Well” on Lot #647, just a few hundred feet from the 646 Mystery Well site. Participants embarked on a hiking tour to the two historic wells in Cherry Grove Townsip.

On Saturday, oilfield history and outdoor enthusiasts throughout the Allegheny National Forest region came together to celebrate “Mystery Well 135” in Cherry Grove.

The celebration observed the 135th anniversary of the legendary 646 Mystery Well oil gusher during the spring and summer of 1882 in southern Warren County. The oil boom in Cherry Grove disrupted the world petroleum market and caused the small ridge top farming community’s population to swell to over 10,000. When production declined later that year, most of the people moved on to the next oil boom.

Participants visited the 646 Mystery Well Replica on the Cherry Grove Township campus, enjoyed a horse-drawn wagon ride, and took a hiking tour to the actual Mystery Well site on Lot #646, about three-fourths of a mile from the fire hall.

The Boy Scouts of America, Crew 73, operated a food tent. The Jammers played period music in an open-air performance. The keynote speaker was Marilyn Black of the Oil City-based Oil Region Alliance and the national Petroleum History Institute. Ms. Black gave a detailed presentation on the significance of the Cherry Grove Oil Excitement of 1882, its impact on petroleum industry of the time, and its place in oilfield history. Ms. Black’s presentation was written by petroleum geologist Ray Sorenson. Sorenson published a detailed industry research paper on the Cherry Grove oil boom.