Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the American oil industry
Pennsylvania is the birthplace of commercial oil production in the U.S.
Edwin Drake drilled the first well specifically intended to produce oil in Titusville, which is in the northwestern part of the state.
His success in 1859 launched a global industry.
Drake Well
Drake traveled to Titusville in 1857 as an agent of the Seneca Oil Company in Connecticut.
His goal was to find and produce crude oil in quantities that would make it commercially successful for refining it into kerosene.
With the help of driller and blacksmith William Smith, Drake adapted and used salt well technology to drill for oil.
The effort paid off when the Drake Well struck oil at 69.5 feet on Aug. 27, 1859.
It attracted the first great wave of investment in oil drilling, refining and marketing.
