FILLING STATIONS

The advent of the automobile brought significant changes to the American landscape and Bethlehem was no exception. One of those changes was the development of the filling station.

In the early days, drivers purchased fuel by the bucket and had the messy job of filtering it and funneling it into the tank of the automobile. Sylvanus Bowser introduced the gas pump about 1905 and filling stations soon dotted the landscape. Some early stations combined repair shops and “lubritoriums”; others provided the convenience of the dry goods store.

The oil companies pictured here are still around today. Sucony is the Standard Oil Company of New York which came from the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911. By 1920 they had trade marked “Mobiloil” and now we know the company as Exxonmobile. Atlantic Oil Company has its roots in 1866, becoming independent after the break up in 1911. You might remember the Atlantic-Richfield and ARCO brands. Sinclair Oil Company, begun in 1916 in New York, has stations in the West and Midwest.

Dr. and Mrs. Davidson of South Bethlehem in their early vehicle.

In 1928, members of the Hood family pose in front of the Maple Avenue Filling Station in Selkirk.

Oliver Earl’s station on Delaware Avenue, Delmar on November 6, 1949. (97.1.109 Courtesy of the Bethlehem Historical Association)

Frank Hungerford’s Delmar Garage in 1924

Vehicles await their owners during construction of the roundhouse at the Selkirk Rail Yards in the early 1920’s.

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