Art
In 1860, oil was discovered near Titusville, Pennsylvania, and towns like Petroleum Centre sprang up almost instantly. Thousands of workers and their families arrived seeking fortune, transforming empty land into crowded streets of wooden buildings, shops, and boarding houses within months.
Art · Full story
You step off the train into chaos and opportunity. Crude wooden structures line the unpaved street—saloons, supply stores, hotels thrown up in haste. Dust rises from wagon wheels; men in work clothes hurry past. Somewhere, a family is moving into a rented room, hoping this oil boom will change their lives forever.
Reflect
What draws people today to move to a new place hoping for better lives, and what do they leave behind?