Pennsylvania Crude: Boomtowns and Oil Barons - Paul Adomites

PENNSYLVANIA CRUDE: BOOMTOWNS AND OIL BARONS. 2010 story by Paul Adomites, photographs by Ed Bernik. Although it had been known and used by Native Americans and early settlers alike, oil wasn't officially "discovered" in America until 1859 with the successful drilling of the first commercial well near Titusville, Pennsylvania. An astonishing convergence of cultural forces precipitated that discovery in the hills of northwestern Pennsylvania. Rampant industrialization, a surging national population, the American Civil War and the inexorable migration westward prepared the way for the advent of a new fuel. There was insatiable demand for light, and the quest was joined by thousands of people who had hung their hopes on the chance of the next strike. PENNSYLVANIA CRUDE: BOOMTOWNS AND OIL BARONS takes you on a pictorial tour of the oil industry in the Pennsylvania Field from the discovery and boom eras through the resurgence occurring today. This book is ia joint collaboration between the counties of Butler, Crawford, McKean, Venango and Warren in Pennsylvania, and Allegany County in New York. This handsome coffee-table book provides an absorbing look at the people and events that shaped our communities and culture, combining incredible vintage photographs gleaned from libraries, historical societies and private collections with remarkable contemporary images created by award-winning photographer Ed Bernik. Enclosed within the back cover is a DVD that provides a tour of historic sites throughout the Pennsylvania field, well sites, boom towns, oil exchanges and parks and museums created to preserve the memory of one of the most dynamic periods in American history. 116 pages, 12 x 9 Hardbound with dust jacket