Martin Yates was part of the partnership that was responsible for the Illinois #3 oil well. The oil sand, or “pay”, was drilled in on April 9, 1924, after two unsuccessful attempts. Geologist V.H. McNutt, after the two failures would not specify a third site. The decision was passed onto Martin, who, in return, elected for a woman’s intuition, asking his wife, Mary, to select the site. She did, and the rest is history!