He also became interested in the development of oil in Venango County, Pennsylvania, and the establishment of national banks in thirteen cities throughout the East.
Culver also attempted to establish the Reno-Pithole railroad, to run between Reno and Pithole, Pennsylvania, the leading oil boom town at the time.
Culver was not one for half measures—to run the railroad he hired Ambrose Burnside, and to hook investors, he brought deep-pocketed men of wealth from all over the country to tour his as-yet-non-existent oil fields.
The collapse of his banks triggered a financial panic throughout the oil region that drove many oilmen out of the business and created chaos that set the stage for men like John D. Rockefeller to move in.
A more complete and colorful account of Culver's career can be found in the book The Great Oildorado by Hildegarde Dolson.