Oil on the Brain: The Discovery of Oil and the Excitement of the Boom in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Venango

Thanks to Colonel Edwin Drake and his famous blacksmith/oilwell driller, Uncle Billy, the 1860s were years of extensive growth and development in the Venango County oil fields of Pennsylvania. The excitement and rush of people that followed had not been seen since the Great California Gold Rush of 1849. As the Upper Field began to play out and production slowed, up stepped the newly discovered Clarion, Armstrong and Butler County oil region. The 1870s introduced to the world the exciting Lower Belt, and the Boom was on. Onward like an advancing army, oilmen and hordes of nameless faces marched triumphantly through the farmers' fields, orchards, woods and meadows in their quest for petroleum. In this final edition, author Gary S. McKinney interestingly delivers the reader into the exciting, wild and fascinating history of the northwestern Pennsylvania oil boom of the late 1800s--the early days of oil discovery in America. This third edition comprises the ENTIRE belt of oil discovered in this region. Revealed are the many stories and faces behind the boom towns that sprang to life along the belt, among those: Greece City, Parker City, Martinsburg (now Bruin), Modoc, Karns City, Petrolia City, and Millerstown (now Chicora.) Extensively supplemented with B&W photos and illustrations; 30 lithographs, 91 photos and 15 maps have been added to this edition.