Oil Becomes and Industry
In the 1600s and 1700s, Spaniards used oil to fix the leaks in their boats.
In the 1800s farmers complained that oil ruined their crops.
Railroads used oil for fuel in the 1880s.
Melrose Petroleum Oil Company drilled the first successful
oil well in Nacogdoches County. However, it only produced 10 barrels of oil
and was soon abandoned.
In 1894, a major reserve was drilled in Corsicana – this was the beginning of
drilling for oil in East Texas.
Today, we depend on oil to lubricate machinery to produce manufactured
products and to operate our vehicles.
One Texan’s Vision
Pattillo Higgins had a dream of striking it rich one
day. He began with a brick business and then
started an industrial town on nearby Spindletop.
He thought there was oil hidden underground
beneath the salt dome.
He creates the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and
Manufacturing Company whose main purpose was
to drill for oil and develop the area around the hill.
Pattillo Higgins resigned from the company after
several failed attempts.
He still believed oil existed under Spindletop Hill
and put several ads in a newspaper trying to find a
geologist who would help him to exploring the salt
domes of Spindletop Hill for oil.
The Spindletop Gusher
Engineer Anthony Lucas answered Pattillo Higgins ad and
leased land on Spindletop Hill Lucas drilled to a depth of
575 feet before his equipment collapsed.
Anthony Lucas convince the Pennsylvania that had drilled
in Corsicana Texas to help them drill and provide them with
heavier and tougher equipment to continue drilling on the
Spindletop location in October of 1900.
In January of 1901, a massive oil strike was hit and
Spindletop became the largest reserve of oil that had ever
been discover in that time period.
The Spindletop gusher shot more than 100 feet into the air
for nine days until the well was finally capped. Oil from the
gusher created a large lake around the base of the derrick.
Spindletop Oil Boom
The well was named Lucas #1– it produced between 70,000 and 100,000
barrels of oil a day –more than any other well in the world during that time
period.
Oil rigs began to spring up all over Gladys City and Spindletop. Land owners
were able to sell their land for several times the value of it just because of
the possibility of oil being underground.
Large oil companies move to Houston as the base of their operations
because Houston had better rail connections.
Effects of the Spindletop Discovery
The drastic increase in drilling at Spindletop resulted in overdrilling and
Spindletop was basically drilled out in just a few years.
The drilling at Spindletop led to the creation of over 600 oil companies
including Texaco, Gulf, and Mobil.
The strike at Spindletop inspired statewide search for more oil drilling
sites.
Spindletop changed the future of Texas and the future of transportation
and industry of the world.
Natural Gas: An Important Resource
Oil wasn’t the only natural resource being drilled for in Texas.
The oil fields also produced natural gas. However, there were no
pipelines to transport this valuable clean-burning fuel. It would be many
years later before the benefits of natural gas would be realized.
The Oil Boom after Spindletop: Oil, Oil Everywhere
The oil boom of the 1920s and 1930s led to the development of many rural
areas.
The population, new industries and the economy grew at tremendous
rates.
As oil grew as a fuel, more industries began using it as a fuel to run their
machinery. Flour mills, brick and tile factories, ice factories, hotels,
railroads, and electric car companies also switched to oil for fuel.
The Rise of Boomtowns
Boomtowns attracted not only
businesspeople but also ordinary
farmers whose crops had failed.
Thrill-seeking drifters were called
boomers who worked only on the oil
rig long enough for oil to be struck
and then they were off to the next oil
rig.
Boomtowns were often noisy and
crowded. Crime, disease and lack of
clean drinking water were problems
in boomtowns. Without clean and
sanitary water or sewer systems,
dysentery, and typhoid fever were
common illness in boomtowns.
Life in the Oil Patch
Most oil field workers had to work 12 hour shifts because the well ran for
24 hours straight – operation of the rig never stopped!
Dangerous gas fumes and slick surfaces made work dangerous. A invisible
and odorless gas escaped from the wells that would burn your eyes, cause
you vision problems and even cause illness or death. Not to mention sharp
heavy equipment posed danger to workers.
The well could always run dry as quick as it began gushing which meant no
job stability for the families of oil field workers. Oil field families moved
around from one oil rig to another oil rig.
Oil Creates New Industries
With the production of oil, refineries are
needed to make the oil into a usable
product.
Refineries pop up all over the Houston
Ship Channel, Beaumont, Port Arthur,
and Corsicana.
The Humble Oil and Refining Company –
later Exxon/Mobil built the largest
refinery on the Gulf Coast.
Other oil-related services and supply
industries developed. Manufacturing and
selling of oil field tools and equipment
became important business as did
repairing oil field tools and equipment.
The Search for Oil Expands
Oil production expands from the Gulf Coast to other areas of the state.
Central Texas and West Texas become important drilling areas of the
state. A major boom develops in the Permian Basin area of West Texas.
The East Texas Oil Field
In 1930, Columbus M. “Dad” Joiner
made one of the richest oil discoveries in
history.
He believed there was oil in Rusk County
despite geologist claims. Joiner
continued his drilling in near Henderson
and on the Daisy Bradford No. 3 well, he
struck the largest oil field in the world at
that time – some 40 miles in length.
Because people believed he was the
“Dad” of the oil business in East Texas,
he was given the nickname “Dad” Joiner
and even had a town named after him,
Joinerville.
Texas Oil Affect the World
So much oil was produced by the Texas oil booms in East and West Texas
that the oil market became flooded.
The country falls into a national depression and the prices of oil dropped
drastically. To try and stop the downslide of oil prices, the government
sat regulations on the amount that could be produce or drilled for. Some
companies tried to drill oil when they were told not to by the government
regulations as a result it was illegal oil and called hot oil.
The regulated amount of oil meant that the lower production meant
higher oil prices that had effects on the automobile industry, shipping
costs, and travel.
The Impact of Oil on Texas:
Effects of the Oil Boom
Midland and Houston are homes to major oil companies. Corpus Christi,
Beaumont, Port Arthur and Baytown are homes to major oil refineries. Even
the University of Texas at Austin had an operating oil well on its campus for
many years.
Oil has a drastic impact on our lives today. Just about everything you own or
use has some sort of oil based chemical in it.
The Petrochemical Industry
Chemists in the 1920 and during World War I found many ways to use
petroleum products in everyday household items.
Petrochemicals were used to make explosives for World War I and
synthetic rubber for tires.
The only problem with producing petrochemicals is the toxic waste
it creates each year. It also produces cancer-causing fumes and
gases into the air.
The Development of Transportation
With out the development of oil and the ability to refine it into a usable
product, automobiles would not be as popular as they are today.
Oil production made automobiles a practical means of transportation.
Streets and highways began to development with the increased numbers
of automobiles on the roads.
In 1903, a request for a highway system began. In 1916, the Federal Aid
Road Act provided Texas with a highway department.
Travel in Texas
Air travel was seldom seen in Texas before World War I. With oil as an
available fuel source, air travel became more common. The U.S. military
created air bases in Texas because of the wide-open spaces.
Airline and airplane companies soon followed the military’s lead in opening
air bases in Texas. Amon Carter, an oil executive and newspaper owner,
helped to make Fort Worth the center of airplane production.
Howard Hughes, a Houston manufacturer of oil drilling equipment set a
world air speed record in the 1930s.
Oil’s Contributions to Culture and Education
Many universities, colleges, museums, and art galleries owe their existence
to individuals and companies in the oil field industry.
Hugh Roy Cullen from Houston donated more than $11 million to the
University of Houston and to Houston hospitals
Amon Carter of Fort Worth established Amon G. Carter foundation for
cultural and educational purposes and provided the building of the Amon
Carter Museum in Fort Worth.
The University of Texas in Austin and Texas A&M University have received
millions in dollars through the state’s Permanent University Fund.