Just before the decline in Oil Springs hit, J. H. Fairbank sold his property in Oil Springs and bought up land in Petrolia. He had impeccable timing. When the boom hit Petrolia, he already had a store there. Eventually, he owned about a quarter of the businesses in the town. Richard Bradley introduced a new idea to Petrolia: that of using nitroglycerin to shake up the oil beneath the surface. After mixed success carting the nitro in from the United States, Bradley decide to build a nitroglycerin plant in Petrolia. Several more sprang up, although they eventually all exploded. Because of the explosions and fires, the town passed a law that all buildings were to be made of brick.