User:Cle8383/Indiana gas boom
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[edit]The gas discovery stimulated the development of industry in East Central Indiana. The Ball Corporation, a manufacturer of glass canning jars, relocated from Buffalo to Muncie, attracted by land and monetary incentives offered by local leaders, as well as easy access to cheap fuel for their production lines.[1] Other manufacturers also moved into the area, including the Kokomo Rubber Company; Hemmingray Bottle and Insulating Glass Company; and Maring, Hart, and Company.
Iron and other metal manufacturers, also attracted by economic incentives, established factories throughout the region. The low cost of energy was a primary reason U.S. Steel chose northern Indiana for their operations. Other cities across northern Indiana also grew, including Hartford City and Gas City. Gas City was in the center of the gas field and had access to the strongest pressures, with between 300 pounds per square inch (2,100 kPa) and 350 pounds per square inch (2,400 kPa).
Cities outside the field were piped gas, and the fuel was exported across the Midwest. [moved]One major use for the gas was to power lighting.[2] The boom led to rapid development of pumping and piping technology by the region’s gas and oil companies. Inventors and engineers, such as Elwood Haynes, developed many different devices and methods that advanced the industry. [/moved] The Indiana Natural Gas and Oil Company was formed by a group of Chicago businessmen led by Charles Yerkes, and in 1890 the company hired Haynes as their superintendent.[3] He oversaw the laying of the first long distance natural gas pipeline in the US, connecting Chicago with the Trenton Field over 150 miles (240 km) away.
The wealth and industry brought by the wells led to a rapid population shift throughout Indiana. In 1890, Gas City had a population of 145, but two years later the Gas City Land Company platted 1,200 acres (490 ha) in anticipation of a population increase to 25,000. Although Gas City did not reach 25,000 in population, its population still increased over 2,000 percent. By 1893, Gas City businesses employed more than 4,000 workers.[4] Between 1880 and 1900, the population of Muncie quadrupled, from 5,219 to 20,942, including notable increases in the Black population relative to other similar-sized towns throughout the state.[5]
Article Draft
[edit]As the use of the gas grew, many scientists warned that more gas was being wasted than was effectively used by industry, and that the supplies would soon run out. Almost every town in northern Indiana had one or more gas wells. Producers lit a flambeau atop each well to demonstrate the gas was flowing. This practice wasted enormous amounts of gas. An 1893 report by Indiana natural gas supervisor E. T. J. Jordan noted that gas pressure had declined sharply throughout the region between 1887 and 1892.[1] The Indiana General Assembly attempted to limit gas waste by prohibiting open burning and instituting a system of metered consumption to encourage energy conservation, but the laws met with tough opposition. Many town leaders, who had come to rely on the gas revenues, dismissed claims that the wells would run dry.
The abundant factory jobs in Muncie, made possible by the boom, contributed to an increase in Black citizens from
References
[edit]- ^ a b Glass, James A. (2000). "The Gas Boom in East Central Indiana". Indiana Magazine of History. 96 (4): 313–335. ISSN 0019-6673.
- ^ Gray, p. 187
- ^ Gray, Ralph D. (1979). Alloys and Automobiles: The Life of Elwood Haynes. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. p. 50. ISBN 0-87195-031-6.
- ^ Glass, James A. (2000). "The Gas Boom in East Central Indiana". Indiana Magazine of History. 96 (4): 313–335. ISSN 0019-6673.
- ^ Blocker, Jack S. (1996). "Black Migration to Muncie, 1860–1930". Indiana Magazine of History. 92 (4): 297–320. ISSN 0019-6673.