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Who Was Anthony F. Lucas?
One might say that Captain Anthony F. Lucas was the engineer behind the
Spindletop Boom. He had studied mining and related subjects in his homeland
of Austria. Before becoming a mining engineer, he served as an officer in the
Austrian Navy. After coming to the United States, he spent a great deal of time
in Louisiana exploring salt domes and hoping to discover oil. The stories about
the salt dome lured him to Beaumont. He was excited about what he saw and
paid Patillo Higgins $33,150 for a lease to drill a well at Spindletop. As he made
plans to drill for oil, the people of Beaumont felt that there were now two
"fools" looking for oil on the hill.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our tour guide, Tex, has pulled a trick out of his bag and arranged an interview with Mr. Lucas. Take
time to read this interview to learn more about the discovery of Spindletop.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tex: Captain Lucas, could you please talk with us about your involvement with Spindletop?
Captain Lucas: Why yes, I would be delighted!
Tex: Captain Lucas, could you please explain to us what made you decide to travel to Beaumont, Texas
from Washington?
Captain Lucas: Well, I have supervised many salt mining operations and believed that Mr. Higgins had hit
upon a brilliant idea.
Tex: What was the making of Spindletop like, Mr. Lucas?
Captain Lucas: Upon arriving in Beaumont, I formed a partnership and began drilling on October 27,
1900. For the foremost experts in oil drilling, we hired the Hamill brothers. Curt and Al encountered
many difficulties and went through several drill bits. They also developed new ideas to bring in the
gusher on Spindletop Hill.
Tex: Captain Lucas, why did you leave Beaumont after Spindletop was born?
Captain Lucas: Well, I do not care much for publicity and decided to serve as a consulting engineer
around the world.
Tex: Mr. Lucas, sir, could you please tell us how the discovery of Spindletop helped the oil industry?
Captain Lucas: Certainly! The American Institute for Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and the Oil and
Gas Committees help oversee and regulate the oil and gas industry. I became the First Chairman of the
OGC, which is now recognized as the Petrochemical Group.
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Tex: One final question, Captain Lucas, if you please. I realize that you do not like to be in the spotlight,
but could you please tell us about the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal that was established in your honor?
Captain Lucas: This medal was designed to distinguish achievements in improving the techniques and
practices of finding and producing petroleum today.
Tex: Captain Lucas, sir, you have certainly earned the right for a medal to be named in your honor. I
want to thank you for this interview and all you've done for the oil industry.
Who Were the Drillers, Roughnecks, and Roustabouts?
These were the oil-field workers who flooded into Beaumont to work at Spindletop. They were
considered "a new breed of man". Oil-field workers took on a job that was filled with excitement and
danger. They got paid well for their work. In 1900, fifty cents a day was considered a good wage. A
driller, who was an experienced worker, got from five dollars to fifteen dollars a day. A skilled helper,
called a roughneck, got a little less. A semi-skilled worker, known as a roustabout, was a little less paid. A
"boll weevil" who was an inexperienced helper was paid two or three dollars a day.
These men were well aware that they faced death either from fire, gas fumes,
or falling from the oil derrick. They worked hard and played hard. It was not
unusual for fights to break out among the men when they went into town.
More serious matters were settled with guns and knives. It was said that
someone was killed at the Log Cabin Saloon every Saturday night. Although
most of them are nameless, they were the backbone of the oil boom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Here is an interview with a roughneck that I know very well. He is my grandfather, W. T. Speaks.
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Ahren: What years did you work as a roughneck?
W. T.: I worked on an oil rig between 1950 and 1954.
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Ahren: What type of rig did you work on?
W. T.:I worked on a lay-down rig and a EMSO triple derrick located in Healdton, Oklahoma.
Ahren: What were the working conditions at that time?
W. T.: The work was hard and dangerous. Men that worked on the rigs had to be strong and healthy.
Ahren: Did the workers get along?
W. T.: They had to work together as a team to get the job done. A “crew” was a driller and two
roughnecks.
Ahren: How deep did you usually drill the well?
W. T.: The first job that I worked on drilled at least 2,300 feet. Then on a later rig, we drilled about 4,000
feet.
Ahren: If you had a chance, would you work on an oil rig again?
W. T.: Yes, I would. My father worked in the oil fields. I followed in his footsteps. For two generations,
our family members were roughnecks.
Oil Production Graph