The year was 1880 and it was known as â€œThe Gilded Ageâ€–a post-Civil War era of industrialization and economic growth. Railroads continued to grow and the oil industry was still young. Methods for refining oil to produce kerosene helped drop the price of the fuel. Kerosene was used in lamps to light homes, and oil was used as a lubricant for machinery, important in this age of industrialization. John D. Rockefellerâ€™s Standard Oil CompanyÂ controlled 90 percent of the oil market in 1880 and his control over all aspects of extraction, production, and transportation of the product was the start of an era of â€œtrusts.â€
The rise of oil weakened the whaling industry. Prior to the use of kerosene, whale oil had been used in lamps, but it was expensive because of a shortage due to overfishing. With the price of kerosene dropping, the need for whale oil for fuel was all but eliminated.
In 1880, the town of Wabash, Indiana, found a new way to light its streets when it had the first electric streetlight installed.Â Another first for electricity also occurred in 1880 as Thomas Edison developed the first electric railway in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
Temperance reformers made progress in 1880 with the passing of legislation in Kansas prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol except for medicinal purposes (a loophole which was widely used).
In Canada, women scored a victory when Dr. Emily Stowe became the first woman to be given a license to practice medicine in Canada.
Britain was involved in several conflicts in 1880. While the Battle of Kabul signaled the end of the second Anglo-Afghan WarÂ on 1 September, December marked the beginning of the first Boer War, pitting the British against the Boers, or “Afrikaners.”
The U.S. saw several natural disasters in 1880. On 12 October, a hurricane struck Brownsville, Texas, causing extensive damage and taking numerous lives.
In Missouri, disaster came in the form of a tornado outbreak that killed 152 people in southwestern and central parts of the state.Â Particularly hard hit was the town of Marshfield in Webster County.
The winter that year is noted for the â€œBlizzard of 1880.â€ The snows began in October and continued throughout the winter. Laura Ingalls Wilder made the storms the subject of her book, â€œThe Long Winter.â€Â