Drake was born on Main Greenville, New York. At the origin of an industry with colossal profits, Colonel Drake will remain a penniless man until his last breath…Įdwin L. Unable to settle down, he tried his luck in the business world from 1859, sinking his meager fortune in dubious speculations before disappearing into abject poverty. His character was unstable and he lived for a long time without real ties before embarking, somewhat by chance, on an adventure in which he knew nothing. Drake to be interested in oil exploration techniques, let alone to leave his name in the annals of history. With his top hat, dark frock coat, gaunt figure and austere face framed by a bushy beard, the man looked more like one of the many itinerant preachers touring America at the time than what he really was: an oil adventurer. The exploitation of oil resources was changing dimensions.

The story of Edwin DrakeĪ revenge for the man who, in the region, is known only by his nickname “Colonel.” What had been said when he arrived in Titusville a year earlier! “This man is crazy, he’ll never get anywhere like this. Drake had won his bet: a thick, black, foul-smelling liquid had gushed from his wooden derrick in a valley called Oil Creek. They’ve struck oil! On Sunday, August 28, 1859, the rumor spread like wildfire in the small Pennsylvania town of Titusville.

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