Here's our final Bluffton Halloween story of the season
This is the final Halloween story in this year’s seasonal series
Here's how to read our three previous Bluffton Halloween stories -
Click here to read the man who lost three fingers
Click here to read the woman placed in a casket before she was dead
Click here to read a corpse and snow storm and a jog in the road
About those mysterious lights north of the Buckeye. Here's the story:
Have you ever seen two mysterious lights at night glowing in the woods just north of the Buckeye?
For many years two natural gas wells were located near the now abandoned-Northern Ohio Railroad (AC&Y) northwest of Spring Street bridge.
These wells were drilled during the 1890s when Bluffton experienced its natural gas and oil boom. Natural gas was discovered in several locations on the north side of Bluffton during this era.
One house near Main and County Line Road was heated with natural gas for many years in the early 1900s.
Not only heated, but electricity wasn’t needed in it, as nature gas was also used as light fixtures.
Before the Great Depression most of the oil and natural gas wells were depleted and capped.
For some reason the two wells along the railroad track remained open. They existed as three-or-four-inch pipes rising about three feet from ground level.
These wells ignited in a way similar to older gas ovens; someone needed to ignite a pilot light by holding a match over it.
Move a flame across the pipe and…”poof”, the natural gas in the pipe would ignite. But move away quickly, as the “poof” created a powerful and immediate flame.
Usually, an adult lit the wells when area youths in the 1920s ventured to the site for a hot dog roast and evening party.
As an aside, this writer was told by one of these participants that hot dogs taste incredible when roasted over a natural gas well.
The well location had one problem: hobos. Their presence was a signal for danger. They too, used the wells.
Parents warned youths to stay clear of the wells in the evenings, when wells were already lit. That meant hobos were there.
Eventually, in the early 1930s these wells were plugged. It is possible that the two capped wells could be located today, except that the area is heavily covered with brush.
Here’s the strange part.
Despite the capping of the wells, some claim they can still see two mysterious flames on clear nights off in the distance from Riley Creek even today.
These viewings are apparently visible from the bridge on Spring Street.
Care to explain the lights?
Go ahead. See for yourself. But watch out for hobos.
Did you miss the previous Halloween stories. Here's their story links:
