Chapter 20 The Oil Industry 1900-1940 Essential Question

Section The Oil Industry In Texas The Oil Industry in Texas began in 1901 with the Spindletop oil discovery. This legendary oil strike was the start of a new era of growth for Texas.

Just FYI: Standard Oil Company Started by John D. Rockefeller in Ohio in 1870 Goal: control entire oil industry—he bought out all of his competitors and cut prices…monopoly By 1880, he controlled 90% of oil industry US Government had to step in and broke up Standard Oil Company in 1911 Rockefeller was estimated to be worth about 189 billion dollars http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USArockefeller.htm

Oil Becomes an Industry For many years, oil had no value because of no cars, etc…used to lubricate machinery and produce kerosene Spaniard used oozing oil to stop leaks on boats But, when railroads began using oil in 1900s, there was a big demand for it Pennsylvania was first state to produce oil (1859) Texas 1st successful oil well: Melrose Petroleum in Nacogdoches…not produce enough so soon abandoned

Oil Becomes an Industry, con’t Texas 1st successful oil well: Melrose Petroleum in Nacogdoches…not produce enough so soon abandoned 1894: drillers struck oil reserve in Corsicana, TX….this discovery of oil encouraged more drilling in Texas Petroleum: Oil Reserve: supply of oil or gas that is known to exist but has not been used

One Texan’s Vision Patillo Higgins Dreamed of striking it rich in Texas Had brick company in Beaumont Thought there was oil in salt dome on Spindletop Hill Geologists didn’t think there was much on Gulf Coast of Texas Geologist: person who studies origin, history, and structure of earth http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Business/leaders.php?name=Higgins-Pattillo

One Texan’s Vision, con’t But Higgins trusted his instincts and formed Gladys Oil Company He hired an engineer named Anthony Lucas to help him Lucas leased the land at Spindletop Lease: contract out (like rent) land to drill on After a couple of failed attempts at drilling, Lucas got help from people who started Corsicana Oil Field

One Texan’s Vision, con’t January 10, 1901: hit oil Oil started shooting up 100 feet in air Oil shot up into air for 9 days until well was capped Oil formed a big lake around the derrick Derrick: tower over well that supported drilling equipment Had to put up barrier around lake of oil to keep well from catching fire

Spindletop Anthony Lucas http://sln.fi.edu/fellows/fellow2/jan99/spindletop.html http://www.eoearth.org/article/Spindletop,_Texas Anthony Lucas http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112442/lucas.html http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112442/ http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/russia.html

Video: The Discovery of Oil in Texas

Spindletop Oil Boom Spindletop Well was named Lucas #1 Produced 70,000-100,000 barrels oil/day After that discovery, people rushed into area and started drilling An oil boom started Boom: time of economic growth Within weeks, area was covered with derricks So close together, people could walk from one derrick to anther Now have drilling rigs, not derricks Can only have one well for every 40 acres

Effects of Spindletop Discovery Spindletop discovery led to over 600 oil companies starting up New oil companies started but most started up in Houston because Houston had better railroads Also, inspired search for oil in other parts of Texas Texas economy became oil based

Natural Gas, An Important Resource Natural Gas: fossil fuel often found with oil At first, oil companies didn’t know value of natural gas So, oil companies burned off natural gas because no way to transport it Then pipelines were built to move natural gas to storage tanks and then to markets to sell it

Section 2 The Oil Boom After Spindletop After Spindletop, the race was on to discover oil in other parts of Texas. In just 30 years, wells in all regions of the state made Texas the world’s leader in oil production.

The Rise of Boomtowns New industries, boomtowns, etc grew as people figured out more ways to use oil Boomtown: town that springs up very quickly as a result of rapid economic growth Boomers were people who went from boomtown to boomtown to drill wells to make money quickly…then they would move on Boomtowns had High crime rate; very rowdy diseases like typhoid, dysentery, etc as result of no sewer systems and clean drinking water

Necessity, Texas Typical Boomtown

Life in the Oil Patch Oil rigs operated 24/7 Long hours and good pay Dangerous conditions Slick with oil Danger of explosions Danger of gases that were emitted Equipment

Oil Creates New Industries After Spindletop, search for oil expanded into other parts of Texas Wildcatters discovered oil in Ranger, Breckenridge, Desdemona, Goose Creek, Humble, etc Wildcatter: person who drills oil wells hoping to find wells in areas not known to be oil fields Oil was discovered in Borger, Amarillo, Big Lake, Wink, Monahans, McCamey and the Permian Basin in Midland/Odessa area

The East Texas Oil Field 1930: man named Columbus “Dad” Joiner struck oil in East Texas near town of Henderson Joiner known as father of East Texas Oil Field East Texas produced incredible amount of oil About 900,000 barrels of oil/day Covered 5 counties and produced 1/3 of nation’s oil Towns of Longview, Kilgore, Tyler…became oil towns

Major Oil and Natural Gas Discoveries, 1900-1940

Section 3 The Impact of Oil on Texas The oil industry has been very important to the growth and development of industry, technology, culture, and education in Texas.

Effects of the Oil Boom Oil companies started Houston Midland Oil refineries in Texas started Corpus Christi Beaumont Port Arthur Baytown Transportation ability increased as result of oil Petrochemical Industry: started up as result of oil industry Petrochemical: chemicals made from petroleum or natural gas

Petrochemical Industry 1920s: scientists figured out how to remove chemicals from oil to make everyday things During World War II: scientists figured out how to make synthetic rubber (used for tires) Synthetic Rubber: rubber that comes from chemicals rather than rubber plants

The Development of Transportation Oil boom led to improvements in Texas transportation Cars invented Better roads Federal Road Act (1916) State Highway Departments Developed road and highway systems Led to more developments: hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc

Travel in Texas US military bases started in Texas because of oil and wide open spaces Oil: produced jet fuel for fighter planes in World War I and II Commercial Airlines Aircraft production Amon G. Carter (oil executive and newpaper owner) helped start aircraft production in Texas http://library.tcu.edu/spcoll/CarterExhibit/Amon_G.htm

Oil’s Contribution of Culture and Education Many museums, art galleries, colleges and universities were started by people and companies with ties to oil industry Hugh Roy Cullen: started University of Houston and Houston hospitals Amon G. Carter: started foundation for contributing money to cultural and educational purposes Amon G. Carter Museum in Ft. Worth: always free Oil industry supports public education with oil profits going to Permanent School Fund

Texas Railroad Commission State agency that regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas

TIMELINE 1900–1940 1901 Anthony Lucas strikes oil at Spindletop 1902 Spindletop produces over 17.5 million barrels of oil 1914 Houston Ship Channel opens 1916 Federal Aid Road Act is made law 1930 C. M. “Dad” Joiner makes a major oil discovery in East Texas 1936 Texas has more than 1.5 million vehicles 1936 State highways total more than 21,000 miles