1. THE TEXAS
OIL BOOM
Read “A Gusher at Spindletop” from It Happened In Texas

2. Question #1: How did the Texas oil industry begin?
SECTION 1
The Birth of the Oil Industry
Question #1:
How did the Texas oil industry begin?

3. The Birth of the Oil Industry
SECTION 1
The Birth of the Oil Industry
1901:
1894:
1889:
1886:
1866:
The Spindletop strike marks the start of the Texas oil boom.
The Corsicana oil strike produces the first major oil field in Texas
The Texas oil industry produces only 48 barrels of oil.
Oil is struck in Bexar County, but not enough to keep drilling.
Lyne T. Barret strikes oil outside of
Nacogdoches but has to shut well down.

4. Question #2: How did Texans contribute to the oil boom?
SECTION 2
The Growth of the Oil Industry
Question #2:
How did Texans contribute to the oil boom?
-growth of boomtowns: increased population, , more jobs, more businesses, economy grew

5. The Growth of the Oil Industry
SECTION 2
The Growth of the Oil Industry
TEXAS GEOGRAPHY
TEXAS ECONOMY
WILDCATTERS
How Affected
independent oil operators who searched for new oil fields; invested in the oil business in hopes of making a profit
drilled for oil across Texas
pumped oil out of new fields in the Gulf Coast, North Texas, the Panhandle, the Permian Basin, and East Texas
depleted some oil fields by overpumping
expanded Texas oil production
established a natural gas industry
developed oil into a big business through the use of vertical and horizontal integration
Read the following:
After Spindletop, the search for oil spread to other parts of the state. Soon, wildcatters (people who drill wells hoping to find oil in areas not known to be oil fields) were flocking to Texas. The oil boom of the 1920s and 1930s caused sudden, tremendous growth in Texas. Quiet, rural areas soon were overrun with oil derricks. The population, new industries and the economy grew at astounding rates. As more oil was produced, more uses for it were found. In 1901 one flour-milling company began using oil as a fuel to run its machinery. Other mills followed its lead. Soon brick and tile factories, ice factories, hotels, railroads, and electric car companies also switched to oil for fuel.
At that time, oil was cheap. Spindletop produced so much oil that, in 1901, the black liquid sold for three cents a barrel. By contrast, oil has cost an average of about $30 per barrel in recent years. That’s a 1000 percent increase over 1901 prices!
As demand for oil increased, oil companies began drilling into salt domes around Beaumont, in the Big Thicket area, and in Louisiana. Industry giants such as John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company moved in. They expanded the search for oil into East, Central, and North Texas.

6. SECTION 3
Effects of the Oil Boom
Question #3:
How did scientific advances and new technology change the oil industry?

7. Effects of the Oil Boom SECTION 3 Texas Oil Industry Internal
Combustion
Engine
Petrochemicals
Electricity
Automobiles
decreased the
demand for the oil
product kerosene to
light homes and
businesses
ran on gasoline,
an oil by-product,
and used in
automobiles
Texas
Oil Industry
Read “Effects of the Oil Boom” on page 426 & “Oil’s Contribution to Culture and Education” on page 428.
Go over each circle:
Petrochemical examples: explosives, synthetic rubber for tires / negative effect of toxic waste – poisonous by-products including cancer-causing fumes and gases
Automobile: increase in transportation, grow industry, highway system
The development of petrochemicals,
products made from
oil and gas, pro-
vided new uses
for oil.
The use of autos
with internal com- bustion engines rose
and led to a grow-
ing demand for
gasoline.