USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Edwin Drake was the first person to strike oil in America. His world-famous well was drilled in Titusville, PA, a small town in Crawford County. His innovative method of drilling for oil using an iron pipe not only caused a “black gold rush” but also placed him in the books of oil industry history.

Detailed explanation-2: -Small amounts of oil had seeped from the ground forever–but no one had figured out how to extract it. Drake tried the usual method, digging trenches–and failed. He studied the land and speculated about oil deposits. His intuition told him he should drill into the ground, just as salt mining was done.

Detailed explanation-3: -He struck oil after drilling 69 ft. into the ground in Titusville, Pa., launching the petroleum age and making Titusville ground zero for the Pennsylvania oil rush. Unlike Ahab (spoiler alert), Drake wasn’t destroyed by his discovery-at least not instantly.

Detailed explanation-4: -The first modern oil well in America was drilled by Edwin Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. The discovery of petroleum in Titusville led to the Pennsylvania ‘oil rush’, making oil one of the most valuable commodities in America.