The shovels met dirt on Friday in a goal to prove that Fredonia, New York was the first gas well in the United States and possibly the first-ever petroleum well. Mark and Michelle Twichell, with the assistance of the University at Buffalo’s Department of Archaeology and National Fuel Corp., began their research by going shovel-first into the grounds of 85 W. Main St.

“We had a productive start to the effort,” Mark Twichell said Friday. “We began by selecting a site that we thought would reveal evidence based upon studying some historic photos and some maps. We dug a hole about a foot-and-a-half square and dug down to about 3 feet and we learned the different soil levels, various strata of soil as we went down.”

In the first dig site, the group found a newer plastic pipe in the ground, knowing that a new location was needed to continue. Around 8 feet to the west, site two began and the possibility of solid evidence was uncovered.“We went down about 4 feet, and again the hole was a foot-and-a-half squared, and we located some bricks and evidence that perhaps there might have been a foundation there,” Mark Twichell added. “At this point, it was getting on in the afternoon and we decided to go no further, but we are going to go to the same hole (today) and expand the size of that hole and see if we can confirm what those bricks represent.”

The goal is to find evidence that William Hart was at that specific site. From there, the evidence, if confirmed, would translate into a stronger resume to have the site deemed historic by the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

“Very significant evidence would be a foundation of a building that could have been there in 1825 and this building was used by William Hart, who drilled the first gas well,” Mark Twichell said. He further explained, “This building was a water-powered grain mill and the owner of the mill gave William Hart permission to drill on his property. In exchange for that, after the well was established, William Hart gave the mill owner two of the original five first gas lamps.”

The dig will continue into today as UB agreed to two days of research, although Mark Twichell said that the archeologist group would not rule out another time to continue exploration of the land.

Mark and Michelle Twichell are not historians by trade, but understand the meaning behind the vindication of a historic site. The duo owns the property that a dentistry also shares and aims for this small plot of grass to become prominent, like Hart’s story is to Fredonia.

“What it means to us, in terms of the village, is how creative and what an impact William Hart had on the country and the nation as a whole,” Mark Twichell said. “This is just one historical element in the village’s history.”

Fredonia can boast its deep history from the first-ever meeting for the grange and the first-ever meeting for the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Though to add to it by making 85 W. Main St. a historic site in New York would only enrich the area’s past.

“We are interested in developing this story; it’s Fredonia’s story,” Mark Twichell said. “The extent in which we can add to this story is very gratifying.”

Twitter: @Kuczkowski95