- Dates
- 1961-10 – 1961-12
- Kind
- Business
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- economygeologyenvironment
- Within
- Beaver Island
- Media
- Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision
Summary
By October 1961, McClure Oil Company had plugged its first Beaver Island well at 5,383 feet and moved men and equipment to a new site between the sawmill and Miller’s Marsh. The new hole was reported at 2,350 feet, with water supplied from the marsh about 2,000 feet away.
Evidence and limits
The reports record drilling status and local relative locations, not surveyed well positions, geological logs, permits, leases, or a final oil result. The November account is a later stage in the same reported 1961 operation: the Miller’s Marsh site had reached granite at 4,800 feet and was being abandoned for another location. The December report then places Well No. 3 at Iron Ore Bay, 3,798 feet deep, with a small show of oil and a possible fourth drilling planned for spring; these are reported stages, not a confirmed producing field.
Sources
- Reports the first well reaching 5,383 feet before being plugged, men and equipment moving to a new site between the sawmill and Miller’s Marsh, drilling reaching 2,350 feet there, and water supplied from the marsh about 2,000 feet away. It does not provide a well log, survey, permit, lease, or oil result.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-10_Beaver-Beacon
- The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-10_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports drilling stopping at the site between the sawmill and Miller’s Marsh after reaching granite at 4,800 feet without finding oil, with equipment planned for a new site across French Bay Road. It does not provide a well log, permit, lease, or a final oil result for the operation.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
- The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports Well No. 3 at Iron Ore Bay reaching 3,798 feet, with earth formations similar to Well No. 2 near the sawmill, a small show of oil, and a possible return the following spring for a fourth drilling. It does not provide a log, permit, lease, commercial-production result, or exact site survey.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
- The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “McClure plugs its first 1961 well and moves to a site near Miller’s Marsh, 1961”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/mcclure-oil-first-well-plugged-new-site-1961/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, October 1961, “McClure Oil Company.” (and 5 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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