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This paper examines long-run development effects of regional productivity shocks in the United States. We exploit the timing and location of large resource discoveries to measure exogenous variation in the demand for labor and consider heterogeneous effects created by environmental and geographic features of the discovery site. Doing so requires developing novel, geographically delineated measures of both amenity value and geographic isolation. Using a dynamic event-study analysis we find that resource discoveries cause population to swell both in the short and long-run (eg, fifty years), though this effect is largely driven by discoveries in unfavorable locations that either suffer from low natural amenity value or geographic isolation. The event study is complemented by a cross-sectional analysis of a broader set of modern-day economic outcomes that generally offers consistent results. This paper highlights the importance of considering environmental characteristics of a place when examining the influence of regional economic shocks and offers insights about the observed spatial pattern of development in the United States.