The Age of Oil• Chapter 20, Section 1: pages 458-463

Dawn of a New Era

• 1543 - Oil first found in Texas in by survivors of the de Soto Expedition

• 1866 - First Oil Well in Texas Drilled by Lyne Barret in Oil Springs, Texas.

• 1890 - Oil Springs has 40 wells, refinery and pipeline to Railroads in

Nacogdoches, TX.

Oil – Texas Gold!• January 10, 1901: Texas strikes oil at

Spindletop (near Beaumont).

• First major oil strike in Texas!

• Gusher shot 100,000 barrels of oil per day until capped 9 days later.

• Started the oil boom in Texas.

• Boosted the overall economic development in Texas, especially Houston.

• Begins a new ERA: the AGE of OIL

(Add this slide): New Demands for Oil

Before 20th Century

- Lubrication of machine parts

- Greasing wagon axles

- Kerosene for lighting lamps

During 20th Century

-Fuel for gasoline powered automobiles-Fuel for planes, tanks and ships-Fuel for farm equipment-Engine Lubricant

“Spindletop”

Spindletop –The First Gusher

• Spindletop Hill in Beaumont was located on a Salt Dome

• Pattillo Higgins and Anthony Lucas struck oil on Spindletop Hill on January 10, 1901

• 500,000 barrels of oil spewed for nine days before the well was capped.

Salt Dome Trap

‘Boiler Avenue’ – Spindletop - 1903

By 1903 more than 400 wells were drilling on the Salt Dome.

The Lucas Gusher – 1901 ‘Black Gold’ ‘Texas Tea’

Effects of Spindletop

• Impact:

1. Oil fields created new boomtowns and oil production companies in Texas

(Humble Oil, Exxon-Mobil).

2. Most important – it encouraged oil drilling and production in other parts of Texas.

Economic Development

• Spindletop led to the rise of a whole new economy and new future for Texas

• Huge oil companies were forming

• Refineries built to refine oil to gasoline

Economic Development

• Pipelines and tankers built to carry oil

• Storage Facilities built to store oil

• Lumber used to build oil derricks

(Add this slide): Texas Boomtowns

– Boomtowns – Beaumont grew from a lumber town of 9,000 to 50,000• Oil Workers, speculators, gamblers,

adventurers all flocked to the oil boom towns like Beaumont

–Very similar to what happened 30 years earlier in the cowtowns of the Mid-West and the California Gold Rush in the 1850s.

(Add this slide): Texas Boomtowns

Problems:

1.Major housing shortages

2.People had to pay for showers and toilet usage

3.Strangers, criminals, flocked to towns to make money from oil drilling and people living there

4.Lack of oil producing restrictions caused many wells to be pumped dry

5.Overdrilling and production caused severe drop in oil prices

(Add this slide): Texas Boomtowns

Benefits:

1.Some towns flourished and grew into cities (Beaumont, Kilgore)

2.Individuals who discovered oil quickly became very wealthy

3.Gave rise to several major oil companies (Humble Oil, Exxon-Mobil, Texaco)

Oil in Southeast Texas

• After Spindletop, oil operators spread their searches throughout Southeast Texas where salt domes were found

• Oil Fields opened all throughout this region– Saratoga– Sour Lake– Batson

Humble Oil Company -1904

• 1904 – Drillers discover a salt dome about 20 miles North of Houston, in Humble

• This was the beginning of the Humble Oil Company, which later became Exxon-Mobil Company, U.S.A

• Refineries were first located in Humble, then moved to the community of Goose Creek

Goose Creek Field - 1916• Located Southeast of Houston

close to Galveston

• Much of the drilling took place in Galveston Bay - offshore– Made it easy for ocean shipping

• A large refinery was built here and the town was later renamed Baytown

Oil in North Texas

• 1901 – Petrolia-19 miles from Wichita Falls

• Electra – discovered by cattle rancher W.T. Waggoner had the first big boom in North Texas

• Burkburnett – 1918– well named ‘Fowler’s Folly’ – gusher that produced thousands of barrels a day

• Oil in North Central Texas in 1917– Breckenridge, Mexia, Corsicana,

Luling

• Geologists believed fault zone contained oil in Central Texas.

• 1922 – Oil workers drilled into a fault near Luling and struck oil

Other Oil Discoveries

Fault Trap

Houston Benefits from Oil Boom

• Houston became the center of the oil business industry; “Where 17 railroads meet the sea”

• Petroleum companies needed the banking, insurance, transportation, and legal services Houston could provide.

• 1914 – Houston Shipping Channel opened which allowed large ships and barges into the port.

Oil Boom Opens Other Industries

• Oil boom created demand for lumber for housing, businesses, and oil derrick construction.

• Major industry in Piney Woods of East Texas.

• Also created new towns built around the lumber industry.

QUESTIONS (1-5):1. What era in Texas History best describes oil and gas

exploration?

2. What were some of the uses of oil that different groups

had used throughout Texas history.

3. Where /What is “Spindletop?” Looking at a map,

describe the location of Spindletop using Relative Location.

• What happened at Spindletop on January 10, 1901 and what

were the effects of this happening?

• How did Spindletop affect economic developments in Texas and the U.S.?

QUESTIONS (6-10):6. New oil discoveries helped to create new drilling

communities called ______________. Name three of

these communities that grew into towns and cities as a

result of oil discoveries in Texas?

6. How would you describe life in one of these

towns?

6. What major Texas city became significant to the oil industry and how did the city help to grow the oil industry in Texas and greater U.S.?

7. How was the lumber industry affected by the oil boom?

10. List 4 things that are made from petroleum today and

describe each one’s purpose.