Leidy Natural Gas Boom

In the late nineteen forties, drilling for natural gas in the remote hills of Clinton County was considered a long shot by most experts. Dorcie Calhoun disagreed. Calhoun is said to have drilled Leidy Township's first deep gas well near this spot. In nineteen fifty, the drill bit struck natural gas.

The well came in strong. Word spread fast. Within months, many companies and independent operators had moved into this corner of Pennsylvania to start drilling of their own. The Leidy field brought a brief but intense boom to one of the state's most isolated townships, turning a quiet farming community into a site of national energy interest, at least for a time.