Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
COAL OIL
COAL OIL. Coal oil is a shale oil obtained from the distillation of coal, mineral wax, or bituminous shale. It is chemically similar to the more refined, petroleum-derived kerosene. (1)
The term was used by the late 18th century, for oil produced as a byproduct of the production of coal gas and coal tar. In the early 19th century it was discovered that coal oil distilled from coal could be used in lamps, although the early coal oil burned with a smokey flame, so that it was used only for outdoor lamps; cleaner-burning whale oil was used in indoor lamps. (2)
Coal oil that burned cleanly enough to compete with whale oil was first produced in 1850 by James Young, who patented the process. Production thrived in Scotland. In the United States, coal oil was widely manufactured in the 1850s under the trade name Kerosene, manufactured by a process invented by Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner. Young won his patent lawsuit against the Gesner process in the United States in 1860. But by that time, United States coal oil distillers were switching over to refining cheaper petroleum, after the discovery of abundant petroleum in western Pennsylvania in 1859. Oil from coal operations in the United States then ended. (3)
In 1875 Marshall M. WALKER and Sanford A. ATHERTON visited Cleveland to negotiate a contract to bring coal oil in tank cars to Dubuque where it would be barreled as customers purchased it. The process would result in better cooperage and lower prices. Walker was the western agent for the Standard Oil Company which had ten tank cars each capable of carrying the equivalent of 80 barrels of oil. ROUSE, DEAN AND COMPANY
were hired to make a receiving tank. (4)
Coal oil was first drawn from a tank into barrels for shipment locally on July 30, 1875. (5) The popularity of the product resulted in M. M. Walker running out of barrels and advertising for second-hand barrels to be brought to his stores at 242 and 248 Main for repurchase. (6) The second tank car of coal oil arrived in Dubuque on August 10, 1875 and according to the Dubuque Herald was quickly drawn off into barrels. "There is nothing like coal oil for cheap illuminating," stated the newspaper. (7)
It took some time before the dangers of the fuel were exposed. T. W. Ruete, in 1884, advertised "Elaine Oil." which was claimed to be non-explosive and free from naptha which made it ideal "for lamps and oil stoves in preference to the ordinary oils." (8) A home fire in Indiana and the death of a young woman using it in a kitchen were reported in December 1911. Warnings were then made that it should never be taken into a kitchen or house when a fire was to be started. (9)
In June, 1984 workers for the Iowa Department of Transportation while drilling holes for the relocated U. S. 61 discovered coal oil from an old coal gasification plant at the south end of Kerper Boulevard between 10th and 11th STREETS. The analysis of samples indicaged that the oil was no a hazardous waste and did not cause health problems. It could remain at the site where it had been since 1950. (10)
Kerosene heaters for the home made a resurgence in the 1980s during a time of concern over the safety of the power grid in this country. Renewed calls for reducing "carbon footprints" and fears of global warming greatly decreased interest in the space heaters.
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Source:
1. "Coal Oil," Wikipedia. Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_oil
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. "A New Enterprise," Dubuque Herald, July 13, 1875, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18750713&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
5. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, July 31, 1875, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18750731&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
6. "Coal Oil Barrels Wanted," Dubuque Herald, August 4, 1875, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18750804&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
7. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, August 11, 1875, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18750811&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
8. Advertisement, The Daily Herald, February 17, 1884, p. 3
9. "Starting Fire With Coal Oil," Telegraph-Herald, December 9, 1911, p. 7
10. Goessl, Joan, " States Start to Do Battle Against Waste," Telegraph Herald, June 22, 1984, p 20