Background on Natural Gas

History of Natural Gas

On August 27, 1859, Colonel Edwin Drake struck natural gas 69 feet below the surface of the ground in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The discovery spawned what was to become the first gas transportation pipeline in the United States. A two inch diameter pipe ran five and one half miles, from the well to the village. Most members of the natural gas industry mark this date as the beginning of the industry here in the U.S. For full text, download (pdf).