Parkersburg Rig

The wooden Parkersburg rig was sold by Oil Well Supply Co. and was shown in their 1904 catalog.  The same cuts appeared in their 1913 catalog.  The rig was skid-mounted and no doubt could also be partly disassembled for moving, hence was semi-portable or movable in units, one of which was comprised of the rig wheels, reel and Samson post altogether (Brantly, 1971).  The typical walking beam of the old standard rig is one of the identifying features of the Parkersburg rig.  The A-frame mast with a single crown pulley was 58 feet high.

The pictured rig may have been made by Oil Well Supply or at least sold by them because the name and address of that company is clearly seen on the walking beam and on the bottom girt of the mast as shown in the OWS 1904 catalog.  However, the Parkersburg Rig and Reel Company in the West Virginia oilfields was organized to produce this rig in 1896.

Parkersburg rig, 1904.  The words printed along side the suspended tools state "Length of drilling tools 49 feet.  Auger stem 36 feet long.  Derrick 58 feet high".  Some manufacturers of portable rigs continued to use the word derrick which calls to mind the construction and profile of the old standard derrick which were built at each well location in the early days.  The term mast is more appropriate for the portable rigs in modern usage.