Natural gas illuminationIn 1825, the first time natural gas was used for illumination was in Fredonia, in western N.Y. A pipeline was laid from a well to a residence where a reception was held for General Lafayette. The house was brightly illuminated by natural gas, using about 30 burners. This was regarded as a great curiosity. Fredonia residents had seen bubbles of gas rising from a creek in 1821. When a gunsmith, William Hart ("father of natural gas") heard reports of this "creek that burned," he dug the first U.S. natural gas well on the bank of the creek, and covered it to accumulate the gas. A 1825 newspaper article reported that natural gas from this well was being used to light the lamps of two stores, two shops and a grist mill near the creek. |
