Six Inches from Monterey to Coalinga
The First Oil Pipeline in California & The Great Monterey
Oil Fire of 1924
(Photo courtesy of The Pat Hathaway Collection)
A History Day Project
by Emily Cohan
March, 1997
In 1904- a man who new almost nothing about oil- except that he needed
it for his steamships, built a 104 mile pipeline to connect his ships in
Monterey with the oil fields in Coalinga. Never before had a pipeline been
built so fast- or so high. It was built in 90 days, and crossed 2 mountain
ranges with a max. elevation of over 2,000 feet.The line had carried millions
of barrels of crude, when one day- it ended in a colossal fire that killed
2 people, and nearly burned down Monterey.
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Email: kim@tmx.com
