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1859

First Oil Well
Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalSub Category: Industrial AdvancesEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1859Drake Well MuseumTitusvilleState: PACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/pennsylvaniaoilindustry.htmlCreator: Drake, Edwin

Long before Texas gushers and offshore drilling, and a century before oil wells dotted Arabian sands and rose out of Venezuelan waters, the center of petroleum production was western Pennsylvania. In the middle of the 19thcentury two developments occurred that guaranteed Pennsylvania’s dominance: The construction, in Pittsburgh, of the first still to refine crude oil into kerosene for use in lighting, and the drilling of the first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania.

 

Image Caption: A retouched photograph showing Edwin L. Drake, to the right, and the Drake Well in the background, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, where the first commercial well was drilled in 1859 to find oil
Iron Building of the U.S. Army Arsenal
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BuildingsEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1859US Army ArsenalWatervlietState: NYZip: 12189Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Iron-Building-of-the-U-S--Army-Arsenal/Creator: Badger, Daniel D.

The Watervliet arsenal complex originally was built to house and manufacture weapons for the War of 1812. During the Civil War, it specialized in gun cartridges and artillery carriages. The facility today is a primary site for making state-of-the-art tank cannon, howitzers, mortars, and recoilless rifles.

Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/US ArmyImage Caption: The 1859 cast iron storehouse at the U.S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal is a unique example of early prefabricated construction technology.Era_date_from: 1859
Watertown Arsenal
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Civil Engineering ProfessionEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1859Talcott AvenueWatertownState: MAZip: 02472Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Watertown-Arsenal/Creator: Parris, Alexander

The Watertown Arsenal was the first major engineering testing laboratory in America. It was created to store and manufacture cutting-edge military technology and weaponry. The United States Army Research and Materials Laboratory continued to use the site until 1989, employing soldiers and civilians to produce and test artillery.

YearAdded:
1982
Image Credit: public domainImage Caption: Watertown ArsenalEra_date_from: 1859
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: WaterEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1859 Heritage State ParkHolyokeState: MAZip: 01040Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/mechanical-power-production-water/-129-holyoke-water-power-system-%281859%29Creator: Holyoke Water Power Company, Herschel, Clemens
Known as the Paper City by 1877, this site was a major industrial center with extensive paper mills, textile mills, machine shops, and a water power system that had within a few decades transformed the fields of Ireland Parish into the manufacturing city of Holyoke. A group of Boston investors created the system of dams, canals, mills, streets, and boarding houses, which was incorporated as Holyoke in 1850. Built between 1847 and 1892 according to the original plan, the dam and canals provided work for Irish immigrants and the French Canadians, Germans, and other nationalities.
YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Public Domain (Produced Prior to 1/1/1923)Image Caption: Panoramic of the Holyoke Mills (The American Thread Company) on Holyoke Canal, 1909Era_date_from: 1859
Drake Oil Well
Society: SPEMain Category: PetroleumSub Category: ExtractionEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 1859202 Museum LaneTitusvilleState: PAZip: 16354Country: USAWebsite: http://www.spe.org/Creator: Drake, Edwin

The drilling of this oil well marks the modern phase of the petroleum industry. A series of revolutionary technological changes, unforeseen even by the most prophetic, followed. Drake demonstrated practical oil recovery by applying salt-well drilling techniques, including the use of the derrick, and invented the modern method of driving iron pipe.

YearAdded:
2013
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Zamoose (CC BY-SA 2.5)Image Caption: Drake Oil WellEra_date_from: 1859
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Innovations

Drake Oil Well

The drilling of this oil well marks the modern phase of the petroleum industry. A series of revolutionary technological changes, unforeseen even by the most prophetic, followed. Drake demonstrated practical oil recovery by applying salt-well drilling techniques, including the use of the derrick…

Read More
Known as the Paper City by 1877, this site was a major industrial center with extensive paper mills, textile mills, machine shops, and a water power system that had within a few decades transformed the fields of Ireland Parish into the manufacturing city of Holyoke. A group of Boston investors… Read More
Watertown Arsenal

The Watertown Arsenal was the first major engineering testing laboratory in America. It was created to store and manufacture cutting-edge military technology and weaponry. The United States Army Research and Materials Laboratory continued to use the site until 1989, employing soldiers and…

Read More
Iron Building of the U.S. Army Arsenal

The Watervliet arsenal complex originally was built to house and manufacture weapons for the War of 1812. During the Civil War, it specialized in gun cartridges and artillery carriages. The facility today is a primary site for making state-of-the-art tank cannon, howitzers, mortars, and…

Read More
First Oil Well

Long before Texas gushers and offshore drilling, and a century before oil wells dotted Arabian sands and rose out of Venezuelan waters, the center of petroleum production was western Pennsylvania. In the middle of the 19thcentury two developments occurred that guaranteed Pennsylvania’s dominance…

Read More

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