International Mining and Manufacturing Company
After arriving in Enniskillen Township, Tripp amassed 1,450 acres of land and engaged in manufacturing asphalt by boiling bitumen.[5] In 1852, Tripp petitioned the Legislative Council of Canada West for a charter to establish the International Mining and Manufacturing Company.[6] After multiple petitions, the Legislative Council issued a charter on December 18, 1854, resulting in the world's first incorporated oil company.[6] The charter stipulated that the International Mining and Manufacturing Company's goals were to “erect works for the purpose of making oils, paints, burning fluids, varnishes, and other things of the like from their properties in Enniskillen."[7] The company was capitalized at a value of $60,000, with Charles Tripp as President.[5] The Board of Directors included Henry Tripp, Hiram Cook, a wood merchant from Hamilton, John B. VanVoorhies, a wood merchant and contractor from Woodstock and three Americans from New York.[5][7] Around the same time as the International Mining and Manufacturing Company's incorporation, Tripp sent samples of the bitumen to Thomas Antisell, who described the sample as "a very valuable variety of Bitumen, and applicable to all the purposes for which this substance is now in such demand," and that it was highly suitable for paints, waterproofing materials and an illuminant if distilled.[8][9]
In 1855, Tripp sent a sample of his asphalt to the University Exhibition in Paris, and it received an honourable mention.[10] At the same of the exhibit, Paris ordered asphalt from the Intentional Mining and Manufacturing Company to pave its streets.[10]
Ultimately, Tripp's venture into asphalt manufacturing was not successful. The company had little capital, high transportation costs and growing debts.[11][12] From 1855 to 1857, 13 creditors issued judgements against Tripp, and he lost all of his land in Enniskillen with the exception of two 100 acre parcels that he sold for 10 shillings to Henry.[13] One creditor, James Miller Williams, purchased 600 acres of Tripp's land for £2000 and commenced his own oil operation.[14] Tripp briefly worked for Williams in 1856 and unsuccessfully attempted to sink an oil well near Bothwell, before heading to the United States in November.[15][5] Williams eventually established the first commercially successful oil well in North America when he struck oil in the summer of 1858.[16]
