First commercial natural gas well (Fredonia)
Primer pozo de gas natural comercial (Fredonia)
- Date
- 1821 · confidence medium
- Place
- Fredonia, New York, United States
- Credited to
- William Hart
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
William Hart hand-dug a well of about 8 metres beside a spring that bubbled gas and piped it through wooden tubes to light buildings in the village. It is regarded as the first natural gas well in the United States.
1821 is the traditional date; it is not the world's first use of natural gas (China used it centuries earlier).
What it led to
- the Fredonia Gas Light Company (1858)
- pipelines for lighting and heating
- the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania and Ohio