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The coal mines around Richmond, VA were the first instance of solely commercial coal production. Previously, coal would be sold by the bushel by farmer who dug coal exposed on the surface of soil.
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William Hart dug the first well to obtain natural gas specifically, along a creek in Fredonia, New York. Hart is known as the "father of natural gas". Natural gas was used as a source of light throught the 1800's, until the introduction of the light bulb.
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Coal replaced wood as the primary energy source to power locamotive trains, leading to greater development of the coal industry.
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Edwin Drake drills for petrolium with a drill and a small steam engine in Oil Creek, Titusville, PA. This began America's petrolium rush and kerosene (a product of petrolium) replaced whale oil.
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John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in 1970 and by 1979 controlled 90% of the country's refined oil. Petrolium becomes the primary energy source of the US.
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Edison begins to market his lightbulb with carbonized bamboo filaments.
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Thomas Edison opens the first power plant in America in New York.
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The first commercial hydro-electric power plant opens in Appleton, Wisconsin.
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The first ever geothermal power plant opens in California, at The Geysers' Resort, located 72 miles north of San Francisco..
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The Hoover Dam, at the time the world's largest source of hydroelectric power, is completed after 4 years of construction
