Torpedo is a village located on Pennsylvania Route 27

Pennsylvania Route 27

Pennsylvania Route 27 is a long state highway located in northwest Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at Park Avenue near U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 19 in Meadville. The eastern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 69 three miles south of Sugar Grove.-History:From 1927 to 1928, PA...

 in Pittsfield Township, Warren County

Warren County, Pennsylvania

Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 41,815. It was formed in 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming counties; attached to Crawford County until 1805 and then to Venango County until Warren was formally organized in 1819. Its county...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The village got its unusual name from an incident involving torpedoes

Torpedo (petroleum)

A torpedo is an explosive device used, especially in the early days of the petroleum industry, to fracture the surrounding rock at the bottom of an oil well to stimulate the flow of oil and to remove built-up paraffin wax that would restrict the flow. Earlier torpedoes used gunpowder, but the use...

 used in oil well

Oil well

An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...

s to increase the flow of oil, which contained unstable nitroglycerin.

History

Torpedo was first settled sometime around 1845 after the construction of a mill, which closed 10 or 12 years later. A lumber mill was opened in 1875–1876.

Torpedo acquired its name during the winter of 1882–1883, when a horse-drawn wagon loaded with 880 pounds (399.2 kg) of nitroglycerin torpedoes

Torpedo (petroleum)

A torpedo is an explosive device used, especially in the early days of the petroleum industry, to fracture the surrounding rock at the bottom of an oil well to stimulate the flow of oil and to remove built-up paraffin wax that would restrict the flow. Earlier torpedoes used gunpowder, but the use...

 bound for Clarendon

Clarendon, Pennsylvania

Clarendon is a borough in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 564 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Clarendon is located at ....

 got stuck on a nearby set of railroad tracks for the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad

Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad

The Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad is a historic railroad company that operated in Pennsylvania and New York.Chartered in 1867, its first passenger train ran in 1871. After several mergers and name changes, it was leased to the New York Central and Hudson River RR in 1873 for a...

. One of the horses had tripped on the gap between the rail and a wooden plank, and fallen. The driver, knowing a passenger train was due, attempted unsuccessfully to free the fallen horse. Failing to free it, he unhitched the other horse and moved it to a safe distance. The driver had started to unload the torpedoes from the wagon, when the train came around the bend. Even after applying the brakes, the train still struck the fallen horse at nearly full speed, severing two of its legs. The wagon containing the torpedoes was tipped over, but the nitroglycerin did not explode, because the wagon was mired in deep mud. None of the train's passengers and crew were injured.

Geography

Torpedo is located on Pennsylvania Route 27

Pennsylvania Route 27

Pennsylvania Route 27 is a long state highway located in northwest Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at Park Avenue near U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 19 in Meadville. The eastern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 69 three miles south of Sugar Grove.-History:From 1927 to 1928, PA...

 in Pittsfield Township, 15 miles (24.1 km) north of Pennsylvania Route 36

Pennsylvania Route 36

Pennsylvania Route 36 is a long state highway located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 26 near the Hopewell Township community of Yellow Creek...

 in Pleasantville

Pleasantville, Venango County, Pennsylvania

Pleasantville is a borough in Venango County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The population was 850 at the 2000 census, and 892 at the 2010 census. It was an early oil 'boom town', and the population jumped from 291 to 1,598 between 1860 and 1870...

, Venango County

Venango County, Pennsylvania

Venango County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,984. Its county seat is Franklin.-History:Venango County was created on March 12, 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming Counties...

 and 7 miles (11.3 km) south of U.S. Route 6

U.S. Route 6 in Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 6 travels east–west near the north edge of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from the Ohio state line near Pymatuning Reservoir east to the Mid-Delaware Bridge over the Delaware River into Port Jervis, New York. It is the longest highway segment in the Commonwealth. Most of it is a...

.