In the early years of motoring, before dedicated gasoline stations existed, motorists would buy gasoline from hardware stores, general stores, pharmacies, and even blacksmiths. Due to the fire dangers and a series of incidents, public concern and regulators would force the sale of gasoline to dedicated retail facilities outside of city centers, creating a new type of business called the filling station. Both the filling station and the gas pump would evolve into the modern gas station.
Several locations around the United States claim to be the site of the nation’s first (or the world’s first) gasoline station, known to motorists at the time as “filling stations. From our research, below is our attempt to identifying some historical firsts.
- 1905 – The first dedicated gas station was in St. Louis, Missouri at 420 South Theresa Avenue.
- 1907 – The first service station by Standard Oil of California (now Chevron) in Seattle, Washington, at what is now Pier 32.
- 1909 – Oldest existing gas station in the United States is Reighard’s Gas Station in Altoona, Pennsylvania
- 1913 – The Gulf Refining Company opened the world’s first “drive-in” gas station at Baum Boulevard and St Clair’s Street.
History of the Gas Pump
Before motoring, hardware stores and general stores would store kerosene in large tanks to be ladled into customer containers. It was 1885 in Fort Wayne, Indiana where kerosene gas pump inventor, S.F. Bowser sold his first, newly invented kerosene pump to the owner of a grocery shop. This was to solve the problem and mess of a storekeeper ladling flammable liquid into whatever random container the customer brought. At that time, kerosene would fuel stoves and lamps. Gasoline was just a volatile byproduct of refining kerosene. More about The Evolution of the Gas Pump.
