It all started when New Haven speculator James Townsend hired America’s first-to-be successful wildcatter, Edwin Drake, to explore the land of Titusville for oil deposits.
Townsend had been inspired by a Yale chemistry professor’s report that stated that rock oil could be refined and used for illumination, lubrication and everything in between.
Edwin Drake set out on his search.
He drilled, and drilled, and drilled for more than a year without any success. His contract with Townsend expired. His investors left, refusing to back him any further in his monomania. But he continued his grind.
Finally, on August 27, 1859, Drake struck on “one of the greatest sources of wealth in the world” deep within sixty-nine feet into the ground. His dogged determination had paid off. However, even he himself did not know the actual value of the black gold that he had just discovered.
For Drake, the oil was nothing more than a source for kerosene, for which he would distill the oil and sell it in the market.
It wasn’t until the invention of the automobile that other distillates of oil, in particular, gasoline, were brought into meaningful use.
By 1900, the U.S had 4000 cars on its roads. Motorists wanting a refill would stop by pharmacies, general stores and blacksmiths to have their fuel tanks filled up from a gasoline barrel.
These were the first gas stations—well, kind of.
In 1905, Sylvanus Freelove Bowser invented the gas dispenser, ushering a new era of “filling station” business, with gasoline now becoming available to consumers at curbside pumps.
Five years forward, the number of automobiles in the U.S grew to a half-million. Curbside pumps were no longer feasible to support this growth and foundations of the first drive-in gas station were laid.
Set up by the Gulf Refining Company in Pittsburgh in 1913, the gas station sold 30 gallons of gasoline at 27 cents a gallon on its first day.
The American Oil and Gas Historical Society describes it as:
Unlike earlier simple curbside gasoline filling stations, an architect purposefully designed the pagoda-style brick facility [that] offered free air, water, crankcase service, and tire and tube installation… The Gulf station included a manager and four attendants standing by. The original service station’s brightly lighted marquee provided shelter from bad weather for motorists.
Gradually, as more Americans bought cars, more service stations popped across the country. By 1940, the country had 231,000 gas stations serving the fuel customers.
The advent of World War II temporary halted the expansion of the industry, and it regained its climb soon afterward.
Today, there are roughly 111,000 gas stations operating in the United States. The number of gas stations might have decreased during all these years, but the gas station community remains as strong as ever.
John W. Kennedy Company is your one-stop shop for gas station equipment and supplies. Operating since 1930, we sell gas station breakaways, nozzle swivels, pipe fittings, fuel management system, underground storage tanks and everything else you need to keep your gas station operational, compliant, safe and efficient. Visit our online store to learn more about our product range.