The large scale, practical uses of natural gas were initially introduced by innovators Joseph Pew and George Westinghouse for the steel and glass industries in Pittsburgh, and local gas companies evolved from individual wells to an interstate supply network acquired by Rockefeller’s Standard Oil interests. Natural gas is now a prevalent part of American markets and with the production from the Marcellus shale is filling the critical void left by a lack of new coal, oil, and nuclear power facilities. This vital American enterprise began in the Appalachian states as an accidental and underestimated byproduct of the oil rush of 1859. This book explores the evolution and significance of the natural gas industry to the present day.

David A. Waples is the author of both nonfiction and fiction works. He is a corporate communications manager for a natural gas utility and teaches communications at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

David A. Waples
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 377
Bibliographic Info: 89 photos, 3 maps, chronology, glossary, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7000-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9154-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface to the First Edition      1

Preface to the Second Edition      5

1. Burning Springs The Cradle of the Industry      7

2. The Gas Light Era Manufacturing “Unnatural” Gas      26

3. Pew, Westinghouse, and the Iron City The New Product      43

4. The House That John D. Built Gas Corporate Development      59

5. From the Ground Down Exploration and Production      91

6. Hidden Highway Natural Gas Transmission      134

7. The Gas House Gang Natural Gas Distribution      180

8. Expansion, Crisis, and Recovery Appalachia and America in the Late Twentieth Century      214

9. Back to the Future Appalachia and the Marcellus Shale      226

Epilogue: The Known and Unknown      286

Appendix 1: Timeline      289

Appendix 2: Glossary      294

Chapter Notes      309

Selected Bibliography      342

Index      347

“comprehensive…this is an important overview of not only a key resource, but a key issue which will affect our region for decades to come”—Appalachian Heritage; “Waples provides a timely updated second edition of his book on the origins and growth of the natural gas industry in mountainous Appalachia”—Reference & Research Book News.