Section 1 The Birth of the Oil Industry Chapter 23 The Oil Boom Section 1 The Birth of the Oil Industry

Oil Becomes an Industry Railroads began using oil for fuel in the 1880’s and demand increased. Most people thought that you could only find oil in the Northeast. There was only one oil company in the U.S. at the time, Standard Oil. Standard Oil Founder John D. Rockefeller

Spindletop Pattillo Higgins and Anthony Lucas believed there was oil near Beaumont on Spindletop Hill. Geologists believed that Texas had little oil. They began drilling in 1899. After many false starts and failures…. Pattillo Higgins Anthony Lucas

Gusher!!!!! In 1901 they hit the largest oil reserve the world had ever seen. The “Gusher” of oil shot 100 feet into the air for nine straight days until it was capped. Oil surrounded the derrick formed a small lake of oil. Which caught fire but the workers put it out safely.

On January 10, 1901, Captain A. F Lucas, with financial backing from the Mellon interests, made the most important oil discovery in Texas history in Southeast Texas at Spindletop. For nine days Spindletop spewed oil unchecked, with between 70,000 and 100,000 barrels flowing from it daily. As word of the big strike spread, speculators of all stripes rushed to Beaumont.

Oil Boom The well named Lucas No. 1 produced more than any well in the world at the time. People began buying and selling land in East Texas in hopes of finding oil on the land. Soon after, Spindletop and the surrounding area was covered in Oil Derricks.

“The boom that Spindletop triggered would ultimately see oil surpass both cattle and cotton to become the linchpin of Texas prosperity.”

The Effects of the Spindletop Discovery People once again saw an opportunity to make money and flocked to Texas. This was called an “Oil Boom” What are some other get rich opportunities like this we have talked about?

Land prices soared wherever oil was discovered. Beaumont's population increased from 10,000 to 50,000 in a few months.

Over drilling at Spindletop resulted in the drying up of the well. Just two years after its start the area was only producing 10,000 barrels a day. (compared to the 100,000 when it started) Spindletop inspired a state wide search for oil and the creation of 600 oil companies, including Gulf and Texaco.

The Rise of Boomtowns The oil boom led to a population growth and economic boom in Texas. Towns began to spring up in areas where oil had been found. Crime, disease, and a lack of safe drinking water were just some of the problems in these new towns.

The Search for Oil Expands Oil fields began to be found all over Texas, not just in Southeast Texas. Wildcatters were people who drilled wells hoping to find oil.

The East Texas Oil Fields The most productive oil fields were in East Texas. Columbus “Dad” Joiner made one of the richest discoveries near Henderson. He produced so much oil the government had to regulate the amount of oil he could pump out each day. The East Texas Oil Fields were producing 900,000 barrels a day.

Life in the Oil Patch Life was hard for drillers. Workers had long hours, Rigs operated 24 hours a day and men had 12 hour shifts. Falling from a derrick meant death and the gases from the wells could burn a workers eyes, cause illness, or even death.

But the job was in high demand because it paid well But the job was in high demand because it paid well. People traveled long distances to work in the Texas Oil Fields.

Spindletop, Texas oil fire Spindletop, Texas oil fire. Spindletop was the location of the first Texas oil well.

Oil Created many Spin-off Industries Oil-related spin-off industries: refineries, pipelines, asphalt, tank cars, ocean-going tankers, harbors, machine shops, oil and gas lawyers, petroleum engineering, petroleum geology, oil leasing, automobiles, roads paved, natural gas, petrochemicals

Starting as early as 1898, some locomotives ran on oil instead of coal.

Rotary drills and improved bits made deeper drilling possible and expanded the industry in 1926 to West Texas.

“HogTown”—Desdemona, TX. Environmental problems: derricks too close together, fire, health hazards, water pollution. Voluntary standards ignored. After World War I, the Railroad Commission enforced regulation. Beaumont Saloon near Spindletop, 1901.

By 1928, Texans owned 250,000 motor vehicles, and businesses that serviced these vehicles would become a major industry.

Texas Oil Production: 1896: 1,000 barrels 1902: 21 million barrels 1929: 293 million barrels Nineteenth-century Texans never dreamed that oil and the state would become permanently intertwined in myth and economics. They had considered themselves as cotton farmers and cattle ranchers, but Spindletop changed that, ushering Texas into the twentieth century with a bang and making the state ultimately different from its southern neighbors.