The following is not a complete list of natural gas and petroleum product accidents before 1900, which run into the thousands. The oil and gas industry was as yet unregulated, so leaks and explosions were not tracked in an organized fashion except by city fire departments. Many natural gas accidents were not recorded unless they occurred in population centers with newspapers to report them.Many nineteenth-century newspapers have been digitized and are searchable online. The U.S. Library of Congress provides access to 2,493 newspapers at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/, accessed 2018.01.19. Some states have digitized their newspapers; see Colorado Historic Newspapers at https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org and Utah Digital Newspapers at https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/. Many libraries also provide access to the early New York Times, Boston Globe and other nineteenth-century newspapers, or databases of historic newspapers such as ProQuest or Gale NewsVault.
In the twentieth century, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a U.S. Department of Transportation agency, would be established to develop and enforce regulations for the safe and environmentally sound operation of the United States' pipelines, and to collect data on pipeline leaks, accidents, and explosions.Data sets of PHMSA Pipeline Safety-Flagged Incidents for 1986-2001, 2002-2009, and 2010-2017 can be downloaded from the tab by that name on the PHMSA Pipeline Incident Flagged Files page, https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline/pipeline-incident-flagged-files, accessed 2018.01.10.
1860s 1860 A manufacturer was marketing a portable or domestic gas works to produce gas from coal for a household beyond the reach of city gas lines. The “gasometer” was about six feet in diameter and five or six feet deep, and worked something like a cook stove.“Domestic Gas,” Cleveland Morning Leader, (Cleveland [Ohio]), 22 March 1860, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83035143/1860-03-22/ed-1/seq-3/>. In March 1860, a "gasometer" exploded during a fire at New Orleans, Louisiana. Two men were burned to death, but the building was saved.“Gas Explosion,” Daily Herald, (Cleveland, Ohio), March 15, 1860, Gale NewsVault Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers.
1861 April 18 – In Tidioute, Pennsylvania, benzene escaping from a newly drilled oil well rose 50 feet in the air and was ignited by the engine of another well 400 rods away. In a second the air was aflame with a roar like artillery. “As soon as the gas took fire, the head of the jet of oil was in a furious blaze, and falling like water from a fountain over a space 100 feet in diameter; each drop came down a blazing globe of boiling oil. Instantly the ground was aflame.” The men and boys working on the site were set on fire; 15 died and 34 were injured.”Explosion of an Oil Well,” Plymouth Weekly Democrat (Plymouth, Ind.), 02 May 1861, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87056248/1861-05-02/ed-1/seq-1/>. Another source says this occurred at Titusville, Warren County, Pennsylvania, and the drill pipe was 5½ inches in diameter.”The Oil Well Explosion,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), 1861-05-22, Utah Digital Newspapers, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/, accessed 2018.01.20.
1862 April 17 – In Eaton, Ohio, a supposed vandal left in charge of the “gas-o-meter” set off an explosion that damaged a local business.”The Great Gas Explosion in the Register Office,” The Democratic Press (Eaton, Preble County, Ohio), 24 April 1862, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88077265/1862-04-24/ed-1/seq-2/>.
1863 May 1 – Workmen remodeling a house in San Francisco, California accidentally broke a gas pipe. Not knowing where the meter was to turn off the gas, they plugged the open pipe with a piece of bottle cork, then held a candle close to see if the pipe was still leaking. It was. The resulting explosion burned a woman and three men, and shook the neighboring buildings, whose inhabitants thought they were having an earthquake."Explosion of Gas," Daily Evening Bulletin [San Francisco, California], 2 May 1863, Gale NewsVault: Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers. November 22 – A gas explosion took place in a building occupied by the U.S. provost marshal at New Orleans, Louisiana. Workmen refitting the gas fixtures had neglected to shut off the gas completely so as soon as a match was lighted, the gas exploded with a noise like an earthquake and did great damage to the building. No one was seriously injured.Rutland Weekly Herald (Rutland, Vt.), 10 Dec. 1863, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84022367/1863-12-10/ed-1/seq-1/>
1866 January – In Covington, Kentucky, a fruit storage warehouse's gas line broke and the building filled with natural gas which exploded when a workman with a light in his hand entered the building. Property damage was estimated at $40,000."A Fruit-House Partially Demolished by a Gas Explosion," Daily Cleveland Herald [Cleveland, Ohio], 10 Jan. 1866, Gale NewsVault: Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, accessed 19 Jan. 2018. March 23 – In Cincinnati, Ohio, an opera house and newspaper office were destroyed by an explosion thought to have been caused by a leaking gas pipe that ignited. The resulting fire spread, destroying several other buildings and their contents, for a total loss of $2 million in property damage.”Latest by Telegraph,” Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado), March 24, 1866, Colorado Historic Newspapers, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/, accessed 2018.01.21. April – A Baltimore, Maryland barber shop was destroyed and its occupants injured when a leaking gas pipe under the floor exploded, throwing them against the ceiling. An adjacent jewelry shop, cigar store and hotel were also damaged."Particulars of the Gas Explosion in Baltimore," Daily National Intelligencer [Washington, D.C.], 19 Apr. 1866, Gale NewsVault: Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, 17 Jan. 2018.
1867 June 1 – In Washington, D.C., two men searching the Clarendon Hotel with a lantern, looking for a gas leak, found it when it exploded, shattering walls and injuring the engineers and two watermen.”Washington,” The Evansville Journal (Evansville, Ind.), 02 July 1867, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014296/1867-07-02/ed-1/seq-1/>, accessed 2018.01.17. July 30 – In Gloucester, Massachusetts, three gas explosions occurred at a mansion house on the cove. By the time of the last explosion, at least 15 firemen and others had been badly burned; one died from his injuries.”Fatal Gas Explosion,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 30 Jul 1867, p. 3, .
1868 1868 – The Detroit Gas Company, suffering from a serious leak in their main pipe, and having discovered the probable locality, began digging down to the pipe, building a fire to thaw the ground. An explosion ensued, but the workmen were not seriously injured."The Detroit Gas Company are suffering from a serious leak," Daily Cleveland Herald [Ohio], 28 Jan. 1868, Gale NewsVault, Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, 17 Jan. 2018. December 5 – In Cleveland, Ohio, a gas explosion and subsequent fire destroyed a house and all its contents. The homeowner set it off when he carried a candle into a cellar where he noticed a faint smell of gas. All five family members escaped with minor burns.”Remarkable Gas Explosion,” Vermont Daily Transcript, (St. Albans, Vt.), 14 Dec. 1868, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85025295/1868-12-14/ed-1/seq-2/>.
1869 May 19 – A gas explosion blew a Brooklyn, New York woman out of her house through a window and onto a shed, where she landed unhurt. A gasfitter working in her apartment had set off the blast when escaping gas reached his lighted lamp.”Gas Explosion and Fire,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 19 May 1869, p. 3, https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/60750227/?terms=gas%2Bexplosion. May 27 – A large gas holder at the Cincinnati Gas Works holding 375,000 cubic feet of natural gas, exploded just after 20 workmen left the site. The explosion killed one painter still onsite, and broke glass nearly half a mile away. The cause was unknown.”Gas Explosion,” The Hancock Jeffersonian, (Findlay, Ohio), 28 May 1869, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042591/1869-05-28/ed-1/seq-2/>. December 7 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while the Commercial Exchange Association building was being lit up in the evening, a large chandelier in the upper hallway fell, breaking the gas pipe that supplied it. The gas ignited and seconds later the building was on fire. The nearly new $250,000 building was gutted, but everyone escaped.”Fires,” Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado), December 9, 1869, Colorado Historic Newspapers, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/, accessed 2018.01.21.
1870s 1870 November – In San Francisco, California, the wealthy Chinese doctor Li-Po-Tai and another man suffered severe flash burns and scorched lungs when an unsecured gas jet filled a room with natural gas that ignited when a match was lit. The elegant home was damaged and a third man was injured when he fell down the stairs trying to escape.”A Gas Explosion,” The Evening Telegraph (Philadelphia [Pa.]), 08 Dec. 1870, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025925/1870-12-08/ed-1/seq-1/>. December 19 – In Cincinnati, Ohio, natural gas-holder number 5 exploded at the Cincinnati Gas Works, shaking the city. When it was destroyed, it was holding 450,000 cubic feet of gas valued at $75,000. The total loss was estimated at $100,000. There were no deaths in the explosion but one man was “slightly burned.” The gas-holder's predecessor was destroyed in similar fashion in May 1869.”Gas Explosion,” Holmes County Republican (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]), 29 Dec. 1870, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028821/1870-12-29/ed-1/seq-2/>.
1871 February 6 – The Brooklyn, New York gasworks were destroyed by an explosion that blew up one of the large natural gas tanks, knocked its supports onto a neighboring tenement, and killed three employees. Property damage was estimated at $150,000."Brooklyn City Gas Works Destroyed," Daily Evening Bulletin [San Francisco, California], 6 Feb. 1871, Gale NewsVault: Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, accessed 19 Jan. 2018. March – A fifteen-year-old boy playing on an unused gas-holder opened its hatch and threw in a match; the resulting explosion killed him and may have blown his companions into a nearby river.“Touching off a Gasometer-a Boy Blown Thirty Feet,” Salt Lake Herald (Utah), 1871-04-18, Utah Digital Newspapers, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/, accessed 2018.01.20. December 23 – A natural gas leak or an open stop-cock at the purifying house of the New York Metropolitan Gas Company's works ignited and exploded, destroying the building and smashing windows in a nearby tenement. Further destruction was prevented by a quick-thinking employee who immediately shut down the gas mains. Property damage of $30,000."New York," Milwaukee Sentinel [Milwaukee, Wisconsin] 25 Dec. 1871; and "Explosion of Metropolitan Gas Company's Works," Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper [New York, New York] 13 Jan. 1872: 279, Gale NewsVault: Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, accessed 19 Jan. 2018.