Crown

In 1906 the Crown was advertised as a new drilling machine.  It was made in Akron, Ohio, by the Crown Drilling Machine Co. and was patented on August 25, 1903.

Crown built a number of rig sizes with 1500 and 2500 feet being popular ones according to an article in the June, 1904, issue of the Petroleum Gazette.  In that same article the Crown people said, "The Crown Drilling Machine is not an experiment, as those manufacturing it have had fifteen years' experience in the manufacture of portable drilling machinery..........".

From this drawing, the Crown appears to be a relatively traditional steam-driven machine.  It was built in six sizes.  Its date, 1903, indicates that it was not present as such in the 1890's, a decade in which many portable drilling machines came on the market.  Illustration from a 1906 issue of the Petroleum Gazette.