A Glass Gallon Jug, a Cork and a Ribbon to cut; Honoring LPG's first problem solver

The very discovery of Propane, by Walter Snelling, in 1912 was addressing a solution. Dr. (Ph D) Snelling,a Chemist from Allentown, PA and an alumnus of Harvard and Yale was in Pittsburgh with a U.S. geological survey unit. His problem - he didn’t get all the gasoline he paid for at a nearby early service station.

Dr. Snelling had taken a glass gallon jug with a cork, went to the gas station, bought a gallon of gasoline and on the way home the cork kept popping out. He knew that there was something disappearing from the original volume. Through distillation of that gasoline into its component parts, Walter Snelling discovered Propane. He is widely noted as the Founder of the LPG Industry. The New York Times on March 31, 1912, published an article that read in part: “Camping out parties and bungalow residents can now have a lighting plant of their own. Dr. Walter O. Snelling, consulting chemist of the U.S. Bureau of Mines … has developed a liquid gas and a steel bottle will carry enough to light an ordinary house for three weeks or a month.”

To impart honor Walter Snelling and the history of the Propane Industry the Smithsonian Affiliated National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, PA debuts their Propane Exhibit. The ribbon cutting is August 2, 2016 with a reception and grand opening celebration planned for September 10th.

The propane exhibit features a 1,200-sq.-ft. education center with more than 200 artifacts in the display. Included is an aerial map of the propane supply chain from production to the customer as well as a showcase of propane’s many applications and uses.

Industry artifacts include digital images of the original stock certificates and demonstration equipment from American Gasol, the company that Walter O. Snelling founded in 1912 after discovering propane. The facility also offers permanent storage for many of the industry archives collected over the last few decades.

I encourage you to be a part of this celebration of the Propane Industry Exhibit. And never forget that the very founding of the Propane / LPG Industry came about because one man was providing a solution.  Do you have Propane / LPG / NGL Storage / Transfer solution needs?