1816 · Milestone
First U.S. gas utility — Baltimore
Rembrandt Peale and partners incorporated the Gas Light Company of Baltimore in June 1816—the nation's first commercial gas lighting utility. Service used manufactured coal gas for street lamps (first lit February 1817), predating drilled natural-gas wells like Fredonia (1821).
Reconciliation note: Manufactured coal gas utility; distinct from 1821 Fredonia drilled natural gas well.
Historical era
Wood economy (1776–1884)
Wood was the largest U.S. energy source for heating, cooking, and early industry until coal surpassed it in the late 1800s.