Oil Works.
Before the days of petroleum the tallow dip served to light the pioneer cabin. Just before the Civil War it was discovered that a vein of cannel coal, which had its outcrop in Mondaycreek Township, contained a large percentage of oil. On Coalbrook, a branch of Little Mondaycreek a plant for the extraction of the oil was erected and for many years did a thriving business. There are yet living in Mondaycreek, many people who remember seeing the surface of the stream covered with the re- fuse oil from the Coalbrook oil works.114
A similar plant existed west of Maxville. It was more extensive and did a greater amount of business. Large kettles were used in the extraction of the oil. The abundance of petroleum coming from the Penn- sylvania oil fields made the manufacture unprofitable. The oil factories were razed to the ground and noth- ing but the burnt earth and loose stones from the old chimneys, yet remain to testify to this former Perry County industry.115