Shortly after obtaining the Hibbard Farm, Bissell and Eveleth hired Yale University chemist Benjamin Silliman Jr. and coal oil chemist Luther Atwood of Boston to evaluate the suitability of the rock oil for making a refined oil suitable for illumination. The evaluation included an economic study and a chemical analysis, and Atwood was positive on the prospects from the beginning of the evaluation. Silliman was more cautious, although he issued a promising opinion in May 1855. Silliman's evaluation cost Bissell and Eveleth $1200. With these expert opinions, Bissell and Eveleth continued with their endeavor.
