The Old Stone House of Butler County
Railroads
The impact that railroads have left on America is broad and very significant. The ‘Venango Trail’ which was used by early settlers and stagecoaches that brought people to the Old Stone House was becoming barren with the rise of railroads in the 1800’s. The road that was once used as the way to Erie from Pittsburgh was no longer needed for travel.
The locomotive and railroad was the biggest thing to hit transportation technology in the 1800’s. One of the reasons for this invention was the loss of horses during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The first steam locomotive was introduced in 1804. Years later, the new innovation quickly sparked a frenzy for building railroads in Europe and the United States after 1830.
The rapid expansion of railroads had both political and economic effects on the nation. Politically, the power of the state grew with interests in expanding rail lines. Railroads were expensive to build, and governments were financing them directly or through land grants. Every state wanted railroads to pass through their area for the travelers as well as the goods the locomotives carried with them.
Economically the railroads increased the consumer base as well as made it more affordable for people to buy certain products. They offered more jobs for people during the expansion time of railroads. It was also ninety percent faster to travel by railroad than any other way. Food was able to be shipped further away from farms because of refrigeration. Stagecoaches drivers that carried goods for farmers were no longer needed to get their product to the consumer. The railroad took away a good amount of travelers to the Old Stone House which was one of the main reasons for its decline in the late 1800’s.
The locomotive and railroad was the biggest thing to hit transportation technology in the 1800’s. One of the reasons for this invention was the loss of horses during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The first steam locomotive was introduced in 1804. Years later, the new innovation quickly sparked a frenzy for building railroads in Europe and the United States after 1830.
The rapid expansion of railroads had both political and economic effects on the nation. Politically, the power of the state grew with interests in expanding rail lines. Railroads were expensive to build, and governments were financing them directly or through land grants. Every state wanted railroads to pass through their area for the travelers as well as the goods the locomotives carried with them.
Economically the railroads increased the consumer base as well as made it more affordable for people to buy certain products. They offered more jobs for people during the expansion time of railroads. It was also ninety percent faster to travel by railroad than any other way. Food was able to be shipped further away from farms because of refrigeration. Stagecoaches drivers that carried goods for farmers were no longer needed to get their product to the consumer. The railroad took away a good amount of travelers to the Old Stone House which was one of the main reasons for its decline in the late 1800’s.
