Geographic Coverage of Statistics for 1635–1945
The Estimated Primary Energy Consumption in the United States, Selected Years, 1635–1945 table presents estimates of U.S. energy consumption by energy source for a period that begins a century and a half before the original 13 colonies formed a political union and continues through the decades when the United States was still expanding territorially.
So, what exactly do we mean by U.S. consumption of an energy source for those years when the United States did not formally exist or consisted of less territory than now? We carefully reviewed the documents used to assemble the estimates, and (as far as possible) the sources of those documents, for clues to geographic coverage. For most energy sources, coverage expanded more rapidly than the nation, defined as all official states and the District of Columbia. Estimates or measurements of consumption of each energy source generally appear to follow settlement patterns. Populations made energy sources in areas of the continent settled enough to have economically significant consumption even though those areas were not to become states for years.
The wood data series, for example, begins in 1635 and includes 12 of the original colonies (except Georgia) as well as Maine, Vermont, and the area that would become the District of Columbia. By the time the series reaches 1810, the rest of the Lower 48 states are all included, although the last of these did not achieve statehood until 1912. Likewise, the coal data series begins in 1850 but includes consumption in areas, such as Utah and Washington (state), that were significant coal-producing regions but had not yet attained statehood. However, no data were available on state-level historical coal consumption. The coal data in this table through 1945 describe apparent consumption, that is, production plus imports minus exports. The geographic coverage for coal was based on a tally of coal-producing states listed in various historical issues of Minerals Yearbook. Coal was likely to have been consumed in states where it was not mined in significant quantities.
By energy source, the extent of coverage summary includes:
- Coal—35 coal-producing states by 1885
- Natural Gas—All Lower 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska by 1885
- Petroleum—All Lower 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska by 1885
- Conventional Hydroelectric Power—Coverage for 1890 and 1895 is uncertain, but probably the Lower 48 states and the District of Columbia; coverage for 1900–1945 was the Lower 48 states and the District of Columbia
- Wood—All Lower 48 states and the District of Columbia by 1810