Mart, in earlier days, before fuel oil and propane, the north east quadrant of the US burned either wood or coal for both a heating/cooking source. Rural households mostly burned wood and urban households, businesses, etc. burned coal. The urban structures were built with a "coal shute" to the basement for easy delivery.
I grew up in a small town in WV and it was a "trip" outside to the coalpile with the coal bucket for stoking the primary heating stove. The cookstove, water heater and a couple small heating stoves burned natural gas. The lucky rural dwellers in WV burned 100% "free" NG. My grandfather's farm had an old "derrick" drilled gas well on it and every room and building on that property had a small NG heating stove in it.
The Town I grew up in had all the amenities not often enjoyed every where ….. because it was founded in 1905 by the President of the Coal & Coke RR and was surveyed out and per say built by his Railroad Engineers, including all streets, lots etc., including natural gas, sewage and water lines with fire hydrants, plus a water pumping station and reservoir. The Pres even had houses built which were then auctioned off to the highest bidder.
