{"product_id":"oil-on-the-pigtail-the-union-and-titusville-railroad-1865-1928-9781958878187","title":"Oil on the Pigtail: The Union and Titusville Railroad 1865-1928","description":"\u003cp\u003eUntil the fall season of 1859, naturally occurring seeps of crude oil in rural Northwestern Pennsylvania were considered a local oddity. The locals who lived near the seeps would often skim off the oil that collected on the surface of ponds and streams. The skimmed oil was used as a cure-all medicine, as a fuel for torches, or as a crude lubricant for neighborhood sawmill and gristmill machinery. Crude oil in Pennsylvania was seemingly destined to remain a local oddity that added a few supplemental dollars to the income of the region's farmers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen, on August 27, 1859, a single well bored to a depth of 69 1\/2 feet fostered a new American industry in the sleepy backwoods region of northwestern Pennsylvania. By the end of 1860, thousands of barrels of the suddenly valuable \"local oddity\" had been extracted from a creek valley south of a hamlet called Titusville. Thus began Pennsylvania's first oil boom that many called, \"Oildorado.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the riches of Oildorado sprang an unlikely transport route: a 25-mile shortline railroad called the Union and Titusville-nicknamed \"the Pigtail\" for its many twists and turns. Started in 1865 and completed in 1871 at a cost of $700,000 ($15,350,578 in today's money), it took a host of investors, a Civil War hero, and an infamous Robber Baron to build the rail line to export Pennsylvania's petroleum and related products from Northwestern Pennsylvania's \"Oil Regions\" to mainline railways.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Booklocker.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50456163287314,"sku":"9781958878187","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_77e90231-bd88-4f40-8e37-cd9985e62a64.jpg?v=1737120974","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/oil-on-the-pigtail-the-union-and-titusville-railroad-1865-1928-9781958878187","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}