Pennsylmania

The successful opening of the Erie Canal in New York State in 1825 gives the rest of the country a case of “canal fever” and none more so than the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Desperate to catch up with the surging economy of New York City, economic elites from Philadelphia and elsewhere in the Commonwealth hatch a plan for a cross-state canal, linking Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh to Erie. What is eventually developed – the Main Line of Public Works – is a system of canals and railroads that link the state, but at enormous cost to the Commonwealth. The 36-mile Allegheny Portage Railroad, constructed between 1831 and 1834, was the key section that would transport goods and people over the crest in the Allegheny Mountains, and while it was a technological marvel it was inefficient. The entire system never generates enough tolls to reimburse the huge investment of funds of the state government, and the Commonwealth defaults on its debt payments in 1842. Out of this disaster would arise a later a successful effort to create a statewide rail system owned and operated by a private company, which would be known as the Pennsylvania Railroad, and which would become in a few decades both the largest railroad and the largest company in the world. It is also during this time that anthracite found in the Coal Regions of the state becomes vital to manufacturing and the Philadelphia economy pivots to become the leading manufacturing center in the country.

What happens when the wickedest man in the world arrives in the wickedest place on the globe? It’s February of 1866 and the oil boom of Northwestern Pennsylvania is in high gear. Ben Hogan, welcome to Pithole, Pennsylvania.

The discovery of oil and the birth of the oil industry created several boom towns some of which later became ghost towns. The most famous oil ghost town in Pennsylvania was Pithole, and it was populated with many a scoundrel and fallen woman. In this episode, we meet some of them, including the most famous of all – Ben Hogan and French Kate. This is the third episode in the 3-part series on the Discovery of Oil and the History of the Oil Regions of Pennsylvania. In this episode we also have repeat appearances by Frank Tarbell and his daughter Ida Tarbell from the first two episodes.

Part one of “The Titusville Gusher” ended in about 1880 with John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company crushing the independent oil producers of Northwest Pennsylvania, where oil was first discovered in 1859 and the industry was born. In this episode, we learn how journalist Ida Tarbell’s first wrote her History of Standard Oil, which appeared in McClure’s magazine in 19 installments. She tells a detailed story of how one business came to dominate an industry, through the greedy and ethics-defying actions of those who ran it, and the counter-efforts of the oil producers and other people to stop them. Hers was the most impactful work of investigative journalism in America before the Watergate scandal.

Titusville, Pennsylvania was where the first oil well was drilled in 1859. That started an economic boom that birthed a new industry and created several oil boom towns, some of which still exist today like Titusville and Oil City, and some of which became ghost towns and disappeared like Pithole and Petroleum Center. This episode focuses on that first discovery of oil by Edwin Drake, the resulting economic boom, and the rise of the Standard Oil Company, helmed by John D. Rockefeller. The episode tracks how Standard Oil became overwhelmingly dominant in oil refining, transportation and marketing. This is the first of a three-part series on the Oil Regions of Northwest Pennsylvania.

Timestamps for major events/discussions:

[08:39] – Investors prepare to drill for oil in Pennsylvania

[11:32] – Investors hire Edwin Drake

[14:00] – Day oil was discovered in Titusville

[18:23] – Introducing Frank Tarbell and Ida Tarbell

[27:45] – John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil as the enemy of the oil regions

[34:34] – South Improvement Company

[38:37] – The Cleveland Massacre

[41:48] – Tidewater Pipeline

Books to read:

· Daniel Yergin’s “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Money, Oil and Power”

· Ida Tarbell’s “The History of the Standard Oil Company”

· “Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” by Ron Chernow

· Ida Tarbell’s Autobiography: “All in a Day’s Work”

· “The Pennsylvania Railroad, Volume 1: Building and Empire, 1846-1917” by Albert J. Churella

Calls to action:

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· Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at [email protected]

Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

Trailer for a new podcast on the people and events in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.