Accidental Oil Company
5297 U.S. Highway 16, 4 miles east of Newcastle. (307) 746-2042

Al Smith, a lifetime oilman, was convinced that oil could be found at shallow depths as well as at the usual depth of 4,000 feet or more. Seeking oil on land he had leased from the government in 1966 and unable to find a rig, he began to dig by hand, using only a pick and a shovel and a few sticks of dynamite. About four weeks later he astounded the experts by striking oil at a depth of 24 feet. At the peak of its production the well yielded a little more than five barrels of crude oil per day. At the Accidental Oil Company, a 120-foot ramp leads to a viewing room at the bottom of a 24-foot well. In the ultraviolet lighting the oil oozing from the cracks in the 100-million-year-old rock appears to be a bright fluorescent yellow, and the process of seepage is easy to see. Antique drilling equipment, including a 1912 steam-powered cable-tool drill rig, is displayed on the grounds. An 1880 derrick stands on a hill above the gift shop, which is located in an oil storage tank. Tours daily, June through August.