Pioneer City, a leading oil town along Oil Creek is photographed here in the latter part of 1865-66. Ortmann in 1909 writes: "The simple working of an oil well already yields injurious matter: during the drilling of the well invariably salt water is pumped up, and the oil itself is capable of destroying life, if present in excess, and forming, at low stages, a deposit upon the bottom of a creek. But the worst are the oil refineries, which discharge into the water chemicals which are utterly destructive to life. Of course, the oil from the oil well floats on the surface, but this floating oil does not do much damage. It is well known that before the discovery of oil in these parts, the Allegheny was famous for the oil floating upon its surface".