Pennsylmania

What does Black Lives Matter have to do with rededicating a street in Northwest Philadelphia? In February of 2022, community leaders in Philadelphia celebrated the recognition of an important historical figure, the Reverend Richard Allen, when City Council named a street in his honor. Allen was one of the City’s first Black preachers and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, of which Allen ultimately became bishop. He was also co-founder of the Free African Society, a mutual aid organization for free Blacks. But City Council’s action was also a sleight of hand, because Allens Lane was always Allens Lane. It was originally named for a different William Allen, a former Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Colony’s Supreme Court, a colonial-era Mayor of Philadelphia, and founder of the City of Allentown. He was no relation to Richard. So, City Council simply swapped one Allen for another – the street was effectively renamed without being renamed. This episode explores why this change was made, why – in the name of history – we sometimes change the names of streets, and how this particular “renaming” of Allens Lane compares to others in recent years throughout the Commonwealth. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [03:31] – Reintroducing William Allen, originally done in “Occupied Philadelphia” (Ep10) [07:19] – Reintroducing Richard Allen, originally done in “Death in Yellow” (Eps18-19) [09:56] – Racially motivated attacks nationally, and Black Lives Matter [13:32] – Philadelphia City Council votes to rename Allens Lane [17:06] – Examining City Council’s depiction of William Allen [23:16] – Renaming Taney Street [32:10] – Examples of street name changes elsewhere in the Commonwealth [39:48] – Was City Council right to rename Allens Lane? [47:08] – Places to visit Places to visit mentioned in this episode: • Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Delaware County – where you can visit the graves of Caroline LeCount, Octavius Catto, Marian Anderson, and other prominent African-Americans. Visit the Cemetery’s website at https://www.edencemetery.org// • Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown, operated by the Lehigh County Historical Society. Next door is Trout Hall, built by William Allen’s son, James, which is a colonial museum and home operated by the Society. Visit the Historical Society’s website at https://www.lehighcountyhistoricalsociety.org/ • Walk along Allens Lane in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of northwest Philadelphia, from the former site of William Allen’s Mount Airy Estate, now the United Lutheran Seminary, to the charming Richard Allen Lane train station, designed in the 1880s by legendary local architect Frank Furness, then on to the Wissahickon Gorge. Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at [email protected] or signing up at our website • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at [email protected] Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

In 1793, the capital city of Philadelphia was struck by a terrible yellow fever epidemic, one that caused President George Washington and Congress to flee the City, which ultimately lost 10% of its population to the disease. In our last episode, we met three notable Philadelphians of the Early American period. Most famous among them was Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, physician to America’s founding fathers, and one of, if not the most prominent physician at the time. He was a professor at America’s first medical school, on staff at America’s first hospital, and a practicing physician in a large clinical practice. The two other men, the Reverends Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, were formerly enslaved African Americans born in Delaware. They were free men, prominent preachers, and founders of the Free African Society, a mutual aid organization for free-born and emancipated Blacks. The lives of the three men intersected around the cause of abolition, but they would intertwine further at one of the most critical points in the history of the newly independent United States. This episode will cover the outbreak of the epidemic and how each of the three men responded to the crisis. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [02:51] – The Great Walkout [04:32] – August 1793: Yellow Fever appears [06:14] – The Mayor swings into action as the fever erupts [15:19] – Exodus from the City, and those who remained [19:41] – Different doctors, different approaches to treatment [22:40] – The Reverends Jones and Allen offer help to the citizens [28:30] – 100 Philadelphians dying every day [29:23] – Matthew Carey’s account of the epidemic – instant history [34:23] – Carey slanders the Black Good Samaritans [36:37] – Jones and Allen defend the Black community [44:47] – The end of the epidemic [46:17] – Rush, Jones and Allen after the epidemic [50:57] – Books to read [51:53] – A preview: Renaming Allens Lane Books to read: Sources for this episode include • Rush: Revolution, Madness and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father by Stephen Fried, Crown Publishing, 2018 • The pamphlet A Short Account of the Malignant Fever Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia by Matthew Carey, 1793. • The pamphlet A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the year 1793: And a Refutation of Some Censures Thrown upon then in some late Publications by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, 1794. Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at [email protected] • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at [email protected] • Visit the newly opened Pennsylvania Hospital Museum. For more information, click here for the Museum’s website: https://pahmuseum.pennmedicine.org/ Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

It was perhaps the greatest calamity of the newly constituted United States, and it struck the capital city. In 1793, an epidemic of yellow fever decimated Philadelphia, and caused President George Washington and Congress to flee the virus. By the end of the outbreak, about 10% of the city’s population had died of the disease. Three important people stayed in the City to fight the disease: Dr. Benjamin Rush, a founding father later known as America’s Hippocrates; and African American preachers Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, both former slaves from Delaware. This episode explains who these three men were, and why they were among those who stayed to help. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [02:41] – Birth and upbringing of Benjamin Rush [05:06] – Medicine and medical training in America in the mid-to-late 1700s [07:46] – Yellow fever explained [12:16] – Aspiring Dr. Rush studies abroad [15:15] – Returning to Philadelphia, Rush begins his career [21:47] – Rush and the Continental Congress [29:40] – The Army gains a surgeon general in Rush [33:58] – Rush’s growing frustration with the Army, in more ways than one [39:10] – Return to private practice [41:17] – Rush’s focus on treating the mentally ill [45:57] – Reverend Absalom Jones – his origin story [48:13] – Reverend Richard Allen – his origin story Books to read: Some sources that were consulted to write this episode include • Rush: Revolution, Madness and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father by Stephen Fried, Crown Publishing, 2018 • The pamphlet A Short Account of the Malignant Fever Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia by Matthew Carey, 1793. • The pamphlet A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the year 1793: And a Refutation of Some Censures Thrown upon then in some late Publications by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, 1794. Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at [email protected] • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at [email protected] Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

On September 1, 1971, something unusual happened at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The game that night – between the Pittsburgh Pirates and their home-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies – started at 8:05pm when Dock Ellis, the Pirates’ pitcher, strode to the mound. From where he stood, he could have looked from the outfield to the infield to the catcher and noticed that every one of his starting teammates was Black or Latino, including superstars Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. Twenty-four years after Jackie Robinson first took to the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Major League Baseball began racially integrating, the Pirates were the first team who fielded a starting roster consisting of players who would have been kept from playing in the MLB based on their skin color. Oddly enough, the historic nature of the lineup was scarcely noticed at the time. But as time went on, it became clear that it was a pretty big deal. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [02:33] – Why were Black players, in effect, banned from baseball? [05:26] – Jackie Robinson debuts [07:13] – Quotas to limit players of color on a team [10:01] – Introducing Roberto Clemente [13:40] – Branch Rickey moves from the Dodgers to the Pirates [20:50] – The 1960 World Series [25:43] – Baseball and the Pirates in the 1960s [29:12] – Introducing Dock Ellis [31:34] – Baseball and the Pirates in 1971 [36:23] – Pittsburgh in 1971 [39:05] – The game – September 1, 1971 [52:52] – The 1971 World Series [54:35] – The economics of baseball in the 1970s [1:00:22] – Books and films that inspired this episode Total run time: 1:03:11 Sources that inspired this episode: • The book Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero, by David Maraniss, Simon & Schuster, 2006 • The book The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, by Bruce Markusen, Westholme Publishing, 2006 • The documentary Clemente, directed by David Altrogge, 2024 • The film No No – A Dockumentary, directed and produced by Jeffrey Radice, 2014 Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at [email protected] • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at [email protected] Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

On Monday, June 10, 1985, at press conferences in London and New York City, it was announced that in just one month’s time there would be a 17-hour, two-stadium, bicontinental benefit concert for famine relief in Ethiopia, to be called Live Aid. It was organized by Irish musician Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats and would feature a “global jukebox” of over 40 of the top stars and groups in British and American music, from Mick Jagger, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and Queen, David Bowie and Phil Collins, to The Cars, Hall & Oates, Eric Clapton, Sting, Dire Straits, and Duran Duran. Not only were the suddenness and scale of the event a shock, but the choice of American venue was as well. The American Live Aid concert was to be held in JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia – a space that could hold 100,000 people. Live Aid became the most famous and most watched concert in history, and half of it happened in Pennsylvania. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [03:26] – The BBC broadcasts a program on a famine in Ethiopia [05:08] – “Do They Know It’s Christmas” written and recorded in London [07:00] – “We are the World” written and recorded in Hollywood [10:48] – Why Philadelphia was picked as the host for the Live Aid Concert [13:39] – The challenge getting American performers, black and white [20:56] – The day before the concert [23:42] – Saturday, July 13th, concert day [28:01] – The full line-up of performers at JFK Stadium [36:02] – Immediate aftermath of the concert [38:39] – Legacy of Live Aid Calls to action: • Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod • Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by signing up at our website www.pennsylmania.com • Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at [email protected] • Watch the broadcast of Live Aid, available on DVD and in clips on YouTube, and/or one of many subsequent documentaries about the concert. Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

This is the story of the Pennsylvania department store that for several decades was more well known and more glamorous than the city in which it was located – Hess’s of Allentown. The brothers Hess founded their dry goods store in Center City Allentown in 1897. By 1929, it had grown to become a large department store at the same location. By this time, both Hess brothers had died, leaving Max Hess, Jr., their 18-year-old heir. Max, Jr, would turn out to be one of the most innovative and successful American merchandisers of the 20th century, making Hess’s a luxe shopping destination that, at one point, had the highest per capita sales volume of any department store in America. The store was famous for its models, European couture, in-store restaurant, annual events like the flower show, television programming, the hundreds of fashion shows they organized and exported, and their canny way of securing publicity. In the 1970s and 80s, after Max Hess, Jr, had sold Hess’s lone department store and died in 1968, Hess’s became an iconic department store chain, growing rapidly to the point that, in 1990, there were 76 Hess’s stores overall, 27 of which were in Pennsylvania. This growth occurred during a time when the City of Allentown and the Lehigh Valley were suffering an intense period of economic decline due to de-industrialization and factory closures. A retail recession in the 90s led to an abrupt collapse of the department store chain and, by 1995, no Hess’s remained. This episode ends with a list of surviving department store buildings in major cities of the Commonwealth.

This is the concluding episode in our three-part series on the financing and supply logistics of the American Revolution. It begins with financial and monetary crises having hit both the Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly. The Continental Congress has created the new role of Superintendent of Finance, and named Robert Morris to the position. Morris and his aides made several major reforms. They solved the army’s supply problems through private contracts with private vendors, created the Bank of North America, and pressured the states to fulfill their financial obligations to the Continental Congress. Morris and his aides ensured critical financing for the decisive military victory over the British at Yorktown, and navigated the collapse of the Continental dollar. But the Continental Congress was hamstrung in its efforts because it did not have the power to tax. This led to an over-reliance on the French and other foreign governments for the funding of the war effort, and led to the states and Congress stiffing their creditors, most shamefully the unpaid soldiers of the Continental Army. The demobilization of the army led to a touchy flashpoint in early America – one that could have led to violence and civil war. Congress was threatened by a mob of soldiers, and the Pennsylvania government did nothing to stop them. Congress left Philadelphia. The overall political dysfunction could have upended the whole experiment with federal government in America, but it led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the new constitution that took effect in 1789.

On May 31, 1889, after torrential rains worse than any in recorded history, the South Fork Dam on the western side of the Allegheny Mountains broke, and 20 million tons of water poured downstream. Towns in its wake were leveled: South Fork, Mineral Point, Woodvale, East Conemaugh and, most notably, Johnstown. Prior to the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, it was the deadliest man-made disaster in U.S. history. 2,209 people were killed. Johnstown and several neighboring towns were destroyed. This episode addresses the questions of why it happened and what happened afterward.

This is the second episode in our three-part series on the financing and supply logistics of the American Revolution. In the first episode, we asked, “Who paid for all this stuff and how did it get to where it was needed?” We described how the Continental Congress funded the war at the start, and did so well enough to permit the military and diplomatic successes of 1777 and 1778. We introduced Philadelphia financier and merchant Robert Morris, one of the richest men in America, who played a key role in both the Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly in the administration of the war’s supply efforts. But, two years into the war, the wheels started to fall off financially, and Robert Morris’ help was even more urgently needed. This episode covers the period from the second half of 1788 to the Spring of 1781, during which time the Continental dollar and the Pennsylvania currency both depreciated. Congress faced mounting deficits, the populace was hurting from monetary inflation, the soldiers were unpaid, and unrest erupted. This episode ends at a point in 1781 when financial and monetary crises hit both the Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly. The Continental Congress responded by creating the new role of Superintendent of Finance and named Robert Morris to that position. Timestamps for major events/discussions: [01:45] – Recapping the description of the Continental dollar from the last episode [04:46] – Introducing Pelatiah Webster [08:23] – The creation of the committee on “ways and means” [10:10] – Congress makes the Continental dollar legal tender [21:08] – The Continental dollar ceases to function as a medium of exchange [25:14] – Political turmoil in the Continental Congress after the Occupation [28:04] – Political turmoil in the Pennsylvania Assembly post-occupation [29:42] – Monetary inflation post-occupation [33:54] – The Fort Wilson Riot [40:16] – Spain joins the war against Great Britain [44:59] – The Pennsylvania Line Mutiny [47:17] – Congress creates the position of Superintendent of Finance [51:58] – Robert Morris formally accepts the position of Superintendent of Finance Books to read: · The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution was Financed with Paper Money. by Farley Grubb (University of Chicago Press, 2023) · Robert Morris: Financier of the Revolution, by Charles Rappleye (Simon & Schuster, 2010) Calls to action: · Follow us on Instagram to learn when new episodes drop or to be a part of our chat community IG: pennsylmaniapod · Join our email list to receive news on the podcast by emailing us at [email protected] · Provide feedback on this episode, or give us ideas for new episodes, by emailing us at [email protected] Link to website: www.pennsylmania.com

The financing and logistics of the American Revolution. In order to get a full picture of the American Revolution, one has to study more than the battles fought by the soldiers and the political ideals of the Founding Fathers. You have to ask, “Who paid for all this stuff and how did it get to where it was needed?” This episode covers the first three years of the War, from 1775 to 1778, when America was a scrappy start-up venture. It illuminates the ways in which the Continental Congress paid for the War. Chief among these are that they printed money, took out foreign loans, and received foreign military aide. But they also employed lesser-known methods, such as government-sanctioned piracy. This episode also explains the far-flung supply network that handled logistics for the Americans, which was essential in receiving and transporting needed supplies, such as gunpowder and arms. It features the man who did more than anyone to fund the War and to get provisions where they were needed: Philadelphia financier Robert Morris. This is the first of a 3-part series that takes us through the end of the War of Independence.

What was life like in the nation’s capital under British control? From September of 1777 to June of 1778, the British Army occupied the City of Philadelphia. During this time, the Congress was in exile in York, and the Pennsylvania Assembly was in exile in Lancaster. This episode explains life and events in Philadelphia under British occupation. About a third of Philadelphians fled the approaching British, leaving behind a population of mostly loyalists and the disaffected. For the working-class, life would become difficult. But if you were a rich loyalist at the time, you could have the time of your life.

July 1777 to June of 1778 was the pivotal year of the American Revolution. With the exception of the Battles of Saratoga, the most crucial events either happened in Pennsylvania (like the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, the occupation of Philadelphia by the British, and the York Congress), or Pennsylvanians were at the heart of it (like Benjamin Franklin negotiating with the French in Paris). It was the Year of Pennsylvania. On the last episode we described those events but ended in December of 1777. We pick up where we left off, with Franklin at his residence outside of Paris hearing the delayed news of the victory in the Battles of Saratoga, and Washington’s Army leaving Whitemarsh for its winter encampment at Valley Forge. During this episode, and while at Valley Forge, General Washington and his staff successfully tackle the most difficult problems bedeviling the army – supplies, training and re-enlistments – and beat back efforts to replace the General or make him subservient to other military leaders. Meanwhile, in France, Benjamin Franklin parlays the American victory in the Battles of Saratoga to official French recognition of and a military alliance with the American state.

The Second Continental Congress – the very same Congress that declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 at the state house in Philadelphia and that served as our representative government during the American Revolutionary War – – actually spent nine months in official session at the county courthouse in York, Pennsylvania. During its time in York, some of the most consequential decisions of the American Revolution were made – including agreement on the Articles of Confederation, which was our first national charter, and signing our nation’s first alliance – which was with France. Some say that the Articles of Confederation make York the first true capital of the United States. This episode explains why the Continental Congress met in York, how it got there, and why it left after nine months. It also includes a detailed description of the Battle of Brandywine Creek and the Battle of Germantown. This is the first in a three-part series titled “The Year of Pennsylvania” when from July of 1777 to June of 1778 the most crucial events in that pivotal year of the American Revolution, save for the Battles of Saratoga, either happened in Pennsylvania or Pennsylvanians were at the heart of it.

The life and legacy of William Penn. This episode, the second of a two-part series, focuses on his founding of the English colony of Pennsylvania. William has direct experience with colonial rule, his father being a landholder in Ireland with Catholic tenant farmers, and his own mediation of a dispute in America in the colony of West Jersey. Penn successfully receives a colonial charter in 1681 but has to navigate many hostile parties – chiefly Charles Calvert, the Lord Baltimore, proprietor of the Maryland colony, and the Anglican Church. Native American tribes already occupy his colony as well as some European settlers – mostly Swedes, Finns and Dutch in the “Lower Counties”. Penn sets up a framework of government and recruits settlers and arrives in Pennsylvania in October of 1682. Under his direction, a great new town is developed, Philadelphia, which will be the capitol of his colony. Penn navigates many challenges associated with a new colony but is increasingly embroiled in a border dispute with Charles Calvert, the Lord Baltimore, and the Maryland colony. Both proprietors – Penn and Calvert – return to England in 1684 to plead their case and Penn becomes an absentee landlord, not returning to his colony for 15 years. Penn is back in 1699 for two more years and just before his return completes the Charter of Privileges in 1701, which will remain the colony’s framework of government for 75 years. He returns to England and, his financial problems growing, unsuccessfully tries to sell the colony back to the Crown. He suffers a stroke in 1712 and lingers on until he dies in 1718. His second wife, Hannah Callowhill Penn, serves as de facto proprietor from 1712-1718 and then as sole proprietor until her death in 1726.

The life and legacy of William Penn, the founder of the English colony of Pennsylvania. This episode, the first of a two-part series, focuses on his family history and upbringing, his embrace of Quaker belief, and how he became a key figure in the struggle for religious freedom in England. He became what today would be considered a keyboard warrior and social influencer in support of Quakerism and the right of conscience – in defiance of his father, an English admiral, as well as authorities who imprisoned him for his advocacy and worship. A few years after successfully petitioning for a colonial charter and founding Pennsylvania, Penn becomes an ally of James II, the embattled Catholic monarch of England. Penn supports James II’s efforts to institute religious tolerance. The overthrow of James II leads Penn to go into hiding and delays his return to Pennsylvania.

Why the map of Pennsylvania has that little right triangle of land at the Northwest corner and why it has been a consequential place in our state’s history, perhaps most notably in the War of 1812. The episode starts with a discussion of colonial borders as they appear in the Kings’ charters and then reviews how Pennsylvania’s borders were settled. The Erie Triangle itself is created in 1784 and then sold by the federal government to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1792. The causes of the War of 1812 are reviewed and how, after the shooting starts, a naval arms race on Lake Erie ensues, and an American shipyard established at Presque Isle Bay. The Battle of Lake Erie – an American victory by fleet Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry – and its aftermath is covered in some detail.

The successful opening of the Erie Canal in New York State in 1825 gives the rest of the country a case of “canal fever” and none more so than the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Desperate to catch up with the surging economy of New York City, economic elites from Philadelphia and elsewhere in the Commonwealth hatch a plan for a cross-state canal, linking Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh to Erie. What is eventually developed – the Main Line of Public Works – is a system of canals and railroads that link the state, but at enormous cost to the Commonwealth. The 36-mile Allegheny Portage Railroad, constructed between 1831 and 1834, was the key section that would transport goods and people over the crest in the Allegheny Mountains, and while it was a technological marvel it was inefficient. The entire system never generates enough tolls to reimburse the huge investment of funds of the state government, and the Commonwealth defaults on its debt payments in 1842. Out of this disaster would arise a later a successful effort to create a statewide rail system owned and operated by a private company, which would be known as the Pennsylvania Railroad, and which would become in a few decades both the largest railroad and the largest company in the world. It is also during this time that anthracite found in the Coal Regions of the state becomes vital to manufacturing and the Philadelphia economy pivots to become the leading manufacturing center in the country.

What happens when the wickedest man in the world arrives in the wickedest place on the globe? It’s February of 1866 and the oil boom of Northwestern Pennsylvania is in high gear. Ben Hogan, welcome to Pithole, Pennsylvania. The discovery of oil and the birth of the oil industry created several boom towns some of which later became ghost towns. The most famous oil ghost town in Pennsylvania was Pithole, and it was populated with many a scoundrel and fallen woman. In this episode, we meet some of them, including the most famous of all – Ben Hogan and French Kate. This is the third episode in the 3-part series on the Discovery of Oil and the History of the Oil Regions of Pennsylvania. In this episode we also have repeat appearances by Frank Tarbell and his daughter Ida Tarbell from the first two episodes.

Part one of “The Titusville Gusher” ended in about 1880 with John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company crushing the independent oil producers of Northwest Pennsylvania, where oil was first discovered in 1859 and the industry was born. In this episode, we learn how journalist Ida Tarbell’s first wrote her History of Standard Oil, which appeared in McClure’s magazine in 19 installments. She tells a detailed story of how one business came to dominate an industry, through the greedy and ethics-defying actions of those who ran it, and the counter-efforts of the oil producers and other people to stop them. Hers was the most impactful work of investigative journalism in America before the Watergate scandal.

Titusville, Pennsylvania was where the first oil well was drilled in 1859. That started an economic boom that birthed a new industry and created several oil boom towns, some of which still exist today like Titusville and Oil City, and some of which became ghost towns and disappeared like Pithole and Petroleum Center. This episode focuses on that first discovery of oil by Edwin Drake, the resulting economic boom, and the rise of the Standard Oil Company, helmed by John D. Rockefeller. The episode tracks how Standard Oil became overwhelmingly dominant in oil refining, transportation and marketing. This is the first of a three-part series on the Oil Regions of Northwest Pennsylvania.

Trailer for a new podcast on the people and events in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.