ST. MARYS, Ohio -- Looking out on the family farm, Jay Elshoff spoke with confiendence about what lies far beneath his corn crop.

"We know there's oil there. The theory is since they haven't pumped any for about a hundred years, the pools have restablished and that's the idea," Elshoff said.

His farm sits in the middle of what was once the richest oil field in the nation.

George Neargarder, a local historian, said oil was discovered around Grand Lake Saint Marys in the 1880s.

The oil boom there lasted 20 years, and spawned rapid economic growth in the region.

When oil was found beneath the lake, it became the site of the world's first off-shore oil rigs.

Not long after 1900, the well dried up and the wildcatters, as they were called, moved west.

Today, some of that history may be repeating itself on a much smaller scale.

Prompted by high gas prices and increased demand, oil exploration has returned to the area.

A Texas company has drilled a well on Elshoff's property, but the company has yet to decide if it would be profitable to begin pumping oil.

While Elshoff awaits a decision, exploration is booming in eastern Ohio.

At a drill site in Coshocton County, east of Columbus, petroleum engineer James Rose said business is good.

"We need to get more drilling rigs out and invest more money in our own local production," Rose said.

He and others in the business said every bit of oil produced domestically is one less barrel that has to be purchased from overseas.

Eric Smith, who runs a drilling company in eastern Ohio, said the latest boom is not as strong as it was in the late 1970's following the Arab oil embargo, but business is brisk.

"As the price goes up, people look in more places. And the old adage in oil and gas is, if you want to find oil and gas, look back to where you found it before," Smith said.

In many cases Ohio wells produce both oil and natural gas. The Ohio Oil and Gas Association said exploration and production has become a billion dollar a year industry.

jim.otte@whiotv.com