Edwin L. Drake
Published on Nov 20, 2015
No Description
MORE DECKS TO EXPLORE
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Edwin L. Drake helped the US become an industrial power by discovering a way to get oil from the ground. With doing that we could have access to has much oil whenever we wanted and power machines.
EDWIN L. DRAKE
- Born in Greenville, NY 1819
- Died in Bethlehem, PA 1880
- First career was as a conductor on a railroad
CRAZY DRAKE
- Friends and Family called him Crazy Drake
- He struggled with trying to find a borer from July 1858 till May 1859
- Spent New Haven money to buy a steam engine and engine house
- Seneca Oil Company spent $2000 with no results, fired Drake
BLACK GOLD
- Drilled all summer, six days a week
- Water kept flooding the hole
- Drake drove an iron pipe down the bedrock
- Placed drill inside the pipe to keep the water out of the shaft
- August 28th 1859, nearly 70 feet underground they struck black gold
Photo by marinephotobank
EXTRA INFO
- William A. Smith(Uncle Billy) provided tools to help get the oil
- By early fall, PA Oil Rush was on
- Real estate prices sky rocketed & fortune seekers arrived
