This Oil Town Went From Richest To Poorest Overnight скачать в хорошем качестве

This Oil Town Went From Richest To Poorest Overnight

This Oil Town Went From Richest To Poorest Overnight This is the incredible true story of Pithole, Pennsylvania, a city that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as fast. On January 7, 1865, oil drillers struck a massive gusher on a worthless Pennsylvania farm. The oil shot out of the ground at 250 barrels per day. Within hours, news spread across the region. Within days, thousands of people rushed to the area hoping to strike it rich. What followed was the fastest boom and bust cycle in American history, and it all happened in just 500 days. In May 1865, Pithole was just a buckwheat field. By Christmas of that same year, it had exploded into a city of 20,000 people. It became Pennsylvania's third largest settlement almost overnight. Buildings went up so fast that one hotel was built in a single day. The city had over 50 hotels, a massive theater with 1,100 seats, 2 banks, 2 telegraph offices, and its own daily newspaper. The post office became the third busiest in Pennsylvania, handling more mail than almost anywhere except Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At peak production, Pithole's oil wells pumped nearly two thirds of all the oil in the entire world. The streets glowed at night because Pithole became the first city ever lit by petroleum lamps. Life in Pithole was wild and chaotic. The unpaved streets turned into legendary mud pits up to 2 feet deep. There was no sewage system, so the smell was unbearable on hot days. Fires broke out constantly, with 17 major fires destroying millions of dollars in property. Building lots sold for $3,000 and could triple in value within 2 weeks. This video tells the amazing stories of the people who lived through it, including Coal Oil Johnny who inherited oil wells producing $2,800 per day and spent $3 million in less than a year. He lit cigars with $100 bills and bought champagne for his horse. You will also hear about Ben Hogan, the self proclaimed wickedest man in the world, and learn how assassin John Wilkes Booth lost $6,000 trying to strike oil before he killed President Lincoln. But the boom did not last. The wells ran dry as fast as they had filled up. The population crashed from 20,000 to just 2,000 in under a year. By 1878, the entire city sold at auction for only $4.37. Today nothing remains except grass covered paths where streets once stood. This is the story of America's most dramatic rise and fall.