|
Black Gold, Texas Tea: Lawencevile Style This article was writen by James Wudarczyk. (Posted September 16, 2006.) On August 17, 2006, the price of gasoline hovered around $2.90 a gallon. The escalation of fuel prices in more recent history has been attributed to a greater global demand for petroleum, and critical supply lines being shut down by natural disasters and the more recent erosion of 16 miles of Alaskan pipeline. As gasoline prices soar, motorists complain bitterly, and many persons recall how in the 1970’s newspaper headlines announced “the energy crisis.”
The high price of gasoline and other petroleum-based products has recently spurred much interest and conversation about the subject. As the consumer of the early years of the 21st century became more conscious of how oil runs the world, few people realize that Pittsburgh - and Lawrenceville in particular - was responsible for the birth of this important industry.
Early uses for crude oil were pretty much restricted to medicinal uses, as it was hailed as a remedy for everything from toothaches to rheumatism. However, as early as 1828, progressive Pittsburgh newspapers advocated the lighting of city street lamps with oil. The idea of expanding the uses did not develop until the middle of the 19th century when Samuel Martin Kier began serious experimentation with the substance. Historian W. K. Cadman credits Samuel Martin Kier (1813-1874) as “the father of modern petroleum refining.” Although there were a number of companies interested in extracting “coal oil” by the distillation of coal, bituminous shales and schists, Kier, a Pennsylvania industrialist, believed that petroleum could be used as a source for illuminating and lubricating oils. Furthermore, he believed the substance could be pumped from the ground. Kier was involved with a number of industries: coal, iron and steel, ceramics, banking, insurance, and transportation. However, his initial involvement with petroleum came by accident. He and his father, Thomas Kier, operated two salt wells near Tarentum. After several productive years, they discovered oil mixed with the salt brine. Rather than discard the substance as many salt dwellers did, Kier conceived the idea in 1849 of bottling “American Oil” as a medicine since it was prescribed for his wife’s consumption. By 1850 Kier was interested in developing other uses for petroleum and erected a refinery, which consisted of a one-gallon barrel, above Grant Street on Seventh Avenue. Kier, who was a pioneer oil refiner and industrialist, called his product “carbon oil” and sold it for $1.50 per gallon. The problem remained that the oil burned with an odor, but it was cheaper to burn than other illuminates and gave off a stronger, brighter light. Sales were so good that Kier had to increase his operations to a five- gallon still.
When residents complained to city authorities about their fear of fire and explosions, Kier was told to remove his operations from city limits. Hence, Samuel Kier moved his refinery to Lawrenceville, then a suburb of Pittsburgh. According to Cadman, “The refinery continued operating at the Seventh Avenue location until the year 1861, when, because of a city ordinance passed in May of that year Mr. Kier moved his plant to Lawrenceville, a district then outside of the city limits. The 5-barrel refinery moved to the bank of the Allegheny River at Ewalt Street, now known as 43rd street. Here the refinery continued to operate almost up to the time of Mr. Kier’s death, in 1874.”
In one of the ironies of history, the city that forced Kier out, today honors his role with a historic marker:
Kier Refinery
Using a five-barrel
still. Samuel M. Kier
erected on this site
about 1854 the first
commercial refinery
to produce illuminating
oil from petroleum. He
used crude oil from
salt wells at Tarentum.
When A. C. Ferris of New York patented a new lamp, the demand for crude soared, as did the price of oil, which jumped from 75 cents a gallon to $2.00.
Drake’s discovery of oil and his successful oil well at Titusville sparked an oil boom. Drake soon began to supply oil to Kier at 60 cents a gallon.
The oil boom ended almost as quickly as it started, and by 1866 Cleveland supplanted Pittsburgh as a major petroleum center. Lawrenceville, however, continued to be home to this vital industry.
As early as November 1861, the borough council of Lawrenceville enacted legislation to curtail the amounts of oil that could be stored. On November 12, 1861, William McCague, Burgess, signed into law a an ordinance which prohibited any individual, corporation or corporations from keeping, refining, or storing coal or carbon oil in quantities larger than five barrels outside of certain geographic areas. Based on this initial borough ordinance, the boundaries established for the refining and storing of petroleum were:
Beginning at the Allegheny River at Bellefontain Street, and running along said street to a point 200 feet south of Valley Street; thence north by a line parallel with, and at the same distance from the Allegheny Valley Rail Road to the Borough line; thence along the Borough line to the Allegheny River; thence down said river to the place of beginning. Also, at a point south of and at a distance of two hundred feet from the Allegheny Valley Rail road on Allen Street, and running south on a line parallel with and at the same distance from said Allegheny Valley Rail Road to Boundary Street; thence along Boundary Street to the Allegheny River; thence along said river to Allen Street to the place of beginning.
Violation of the law carried a fine of $50.00 for the first offense, and for each day’s continuance, a further sum of $20.00. It was the duty of the street commissioner to prosecute anyone who violated the provisions of the ordinance.
On February 19, 1863, Burgess William McCague signed into law a supplement to the earlier ordinance. William Jancey, Secretary of Council, also attested to this law. It increased the fines to $30.00 per day for failure to conform and allowed the Burgess or any Alderman or Justice of the Peace, in the County of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, to recover the fines. One half of the revenues from the fine were to be used for the Borough of Lawrenceville and the other half was to given to the informant.
In 1880 Grant McCargo recognized the need for quality, cost effective lubricants for the steel industry. He staked out a corner of Andrew Carnegie’s Union Mill in what is now 34th and A.V.R.R. Streets, and laid the foundation for Exxon’s only grease making facility. At one point the facility that started as a one-kettle operation covered sixteen acres.
On September 18, 200 the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Commission erected a plaque 33rd and Smallman Street. The text of the marker reads:
Long a major producer of
lubricating grease for industry,
transportation, and the
military. In WWII supplied
5,000,000 pounds of
“Eisenhower grease,” vital to
the war effort. Founded here,
1885, by Grant McCargo. After
1929, part of Standard Oil (NJ);
operated until 1999.
The Exxon facility was a Pittsburgh landmark industry for more than a century. A company publication in 1985 sheds additional light on the history of this institution. “And McCargo’s tiny grease works, joining forces with Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), overflowed its original street corner to cover 16 acres of riverfront property on its way to becoming Exxon USA’s only grease making facility. . . What a century it has been for Exxon’s Pittsburgh Plant! Keeping pace with innovations in industry and technology, its product roster grew from one in 1885 to 54 in 1906 - - and burgeoned temporarily to more than 800 during the World War II years.” This same source briefly traced the 7,000-year-old history of lubricants, which are essentials to keep parts from wearing out as a result of friction. “Lead, soda, tallow, oils from vegetables and whales, and even naphthalene formed the basis of concoctions applied to bearings and hot metal through the centuries. And yet, although the use of mineral oils, asphalts and crude oil grew increasingly in applications from coating boat hulls to being touted as a cure for toothache, it wasn’t until the mid-nineteenth century that petroleum’s value as a lubricating agent was discovered. . . Walter Little, an early refiner, accidentally discovered that oils left after distilling crude petroleum could be boiled with soda sap to form a lubricant with decided advantages over other products. He obtained the first patent for grease in 1849.” The article also noted, “The early grease makers guarded their skill carefully. A man could be forgiven for ruining a batch of product, but never for betraying the secrets of his ‘art.’”
In 1997 Exxon acquired Witco Petroleum in Bakerstown, Pennsylvania, and laid plans to close the Lawrenceville facility. The Lawrenceville plant was vital in helping the United States win World War II. Pittsburgh Plant chemists spearheaded the drive to create synthetic oils to replace whale oil stocks. By 1985 this important branch of Exxon was producing 200 specialty products, which included lubricants designed to protect gears in automatic washing machines.
Pittsburgh proved to be a natural home for the industry because at one point within a 500-mile radius of the city, one could find fifty percent of the nation’s industries and population. In 1985, Chuck Hale, Exxon’s Plant Manger, stated, “We’re faced with the challenge of producing 200 specialty products, and our employees must perform a variety of tasks to effectively serve our customers.” At the time of the Lawrenceville plant’s centennial in 1985, Hale also boasted, “Our facility may be old, but our employees bring fresh ideas and new enthusiasm to the job every day.” However, by 1999, the facility was closed, and production was transferred to Exxon’s Bakerstown, Pennsylvania, facility.
The fear of fire that prompted the city officials to force Samuel Kier outside of Pittsburgh limits was a constant worry for those engaged in the oil industry, as sell as for residents in the proximity of the tanks.
The first of three major fires hit Lawrenceville on June 28, 1870, when a lightning storm struck two 20,000-gallon oil tanks. Within minutes, twenty acres of flames destroyed tanks, setting pans, agitators and still, stables and refinery buildings in what is now the Tenth Ward. The wooden bridge that linked Sharpsburg and Lawrenceville fell victim to the blaze. Property losses were estimated at $250,000 and all that remained were the smoldering ruins of the Eclipse, Citizens, Forsythe, Astral, and National Refineries.
One June 17, 1923, the Gazette Times reported that the fire at the Atlantic Refinery Company’s plant at Butler and 57th Streets was brought under control after raging for more than twenty-six hours. The fire destroyed 100,000 barrels of oil and caused more than $1,000,000 in damages. Regarded as one of the worst fires in Pittsburgh’s history, the catastrophe claimed the lives of seven firemen who were hurled into an oil tank when a ladder broke. There they drowned or suffocated. A series of explosions also injured 80 persons, including fifty children who were spectators as they watched from a knoll on Mount Albion hill.
The third major oil fire took place when the Waverly Oil Works caught fire during the flood of March 1936. Several fire fighters were injured as they battled the blazes while knee deep in floodwaters.
As one comes across the 62nd Street or Robert Fleming Bridge or drives along Butler Street, the great oil storage tanks of Sunoco stand as testimony of the petroleum industry in Lawrenceville. According to Mr. Louis Klos, a resident of Lawrenceville and a thirty-five year employee in the oil business, the tanks hold gasoline, which is refined in Philadelphia and piped into Pittsburgh for distribution to service stations. Mr. Klos, who started with the Atlantic Refining Company in 1949, contended that the largest tank holds two million gallons of gasoline, another has storage capacity for 1.25 million, and even the smallest holds 900,000 gallons. Over the years a number of smaller tanks were demolished.
Klos also noted that Standard Oil originally owned Atlantic Refining. When Atlantic and Richfield merged, the new company was called ARCO. In recent years, Sunoco acquired the company.
In recalling he period of the late 1940’s and 1950’s, Mr. Klos said that Atlantic Refinery also had a warehouse where cases of oil came by rail for distribution into the Western Pennsylvania market.
He also recalled that at one time barges loaded with petroleum products were pumped into the tanks. This practice was discontinued shortly after fire destroyed a barge. Apparently workmen build an open fire on the barge to keep warm. This was extremely dangerous considering the fact that a barge has the capability of holding 400,000 gallons of gasoline.
Although Lawrenceville soil never produced a drop of oil, its contributions to this vital national industry cannot be overlooked. Here
approximately two and one-half miles apart, Exxon and Sunoco for many years continued the tradition started by Samuel Kier.
Sources
“Black Gold, Texas Tea: Lawrenceville Style,” Historical Happenings, September 1996.
Borough Laws of Lawrenceville.
Cadman, W. K., “Kier’s 5-Barrel Still – ‘A Venerable Relic,’” Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, Volume 42, Number 4, December 1959.
“Celebrating A Century of Service 1885-1985, (Souvenir booklet produced by Exxon) Exxon, Pittsburgh Plant Perspectives.
Giddens, Paul H., “Pittsburgh and the Beginnings of the Petroleum Industry,” Carnegie Magazine.
“Raging 26 Hours, Flames Subdued After Injuring 80,” Gazette Times, June 17, 1923.
“Search for Historical Markers, Pennsylvania Historical and Marker Commission, http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DOH/descriptresults.asp?markertext=grease&markertexts.
“Story of the Frightful Week of the ’36 Flood,” Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph.
|
