Name/Title
Cooling Pipes - Brave Pumping Station - Brave, Greene County, PennsylvaniaEntry/Object ID
2014.4.44Description
Cooling Pipes at the Brave Pumping Station, owned by the Peoples Natural Gas Company (PNGC), in Brave, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
The compressor station opened 3 March 1907 and operated until 28 September 1959. At one time it was considered to be the largest natural gas compressor station in the world.
On 2 April 1917, a failed valve led to a disastrous explosion that took the lives of six men and seriously injured five others.
Original, professional photograph published by W. T. Hays, Waynesburg, Pa.
Sources:
G. Wayne Smith, History of Greene County, Pennsylvania, 2 volumes (Waynesburg, Pennsylvania: Cornerstone Genealogical Society, 1996), 1: 468-469, 2: 656-657.
"Six Men Killed: Explosion of Big Gas Main at Brave, Causes Appalling Accident" article, Waynesburg (Pennsylvania) Republican, 5 April 1917, page 1, columns 2-3.
Sarah Sweeney, "Brave Station: The Early History of Oil and Gas in Southwestern Pennsylvania" article, Center for Coalfield Justice (https://centerforcoalfieldjustice.org/2024/07/brave-station-the-early-history-of-oil-and-gas-in-southwestern-pennsylvania/ : viewed 23 November 2025).Collection
Waynesburg Borough Office CollectionMade/Created
Studio
Hays, William Thompson [Publisher]Date made
circa 1905 - circa 1907Lexicon
Search Terms
Brave (Pa.)--Business, Occupations--Oil and gas, Wayne (Greene County, Pa. : Township)--BusinessOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
WBGB-AN003-0002Relationships
Related Places
Place
Village
BraveTownship
Wayne TownshipCounty
Greene CountyState/Province
PennsylvaniaCountry
United StatesContinent
North AmericaProvenance
Provenance Detail
Greene County Places Series - Waynesburg Borough Office CollectionNotes
Archived at the Waynesburg Borough Office (90 East High Street; Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370). Researched and digitized for the Greene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania Archives Project 2014.
SOURCE CITATION: Cooling Pipes at the Brave Pumping Station, owned by the Peoples Natural Gas Company (PNGC), in Brave, Greene County, Pennsylvania; circa 1905-1907, image by W. T. Hays, Waynesburg, Pa.; item no. WBGB-AN003-0002, Waynesburg Borough Office Collection; Greene Connections Archives Project (GreeneConnections.com).