1. Ch. 20: A New Century
Sec. 1: The Modern Era Begins

2. Dawn of a New Era
Oil first found in Texas in by survivors of the de Soto Expedition
First Oil Well Drilled in Oil Springs, Texas by Lyne Barret.
Oil Springs has 40 wells, refinery and pipeline to Railroads in
Nacogdoches, TX.

3. New Demands for Oil Lubrication of machine parts Greasing wagon axles
Before 20th Century
Lubrication of machine parts
Greasing wagon axles
Kerosene for lighting lamps
During 20th Century
Fuel for
Automobiles
Planes,
Tanks
Ships
Farm Equipment
Engine Lubricant

4. 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 six days before the well was capped.

5. Salt Dome Trap

6. The Oil Boom
After the Spindletop Gusher, people competed for land to drill for oil.
Leases – contracts to hold land to drill on
Companies – Oil operator organized 100 companies and operated 200 wells within months of the strike.

7. The Oil Boom
Boomtowns – A town that has rapid population and economic growth due to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil.
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

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

9. 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

10. Economic Development Pipelines and tankers built to carry oil
Storage Facilities built to store oil
Lumber used to build oil derricks

11. ‘Boiler Avenue’ – Spindletop - 1903
By 1903 more than 400 wells were drilling on the Salt Dome.

12. 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
Balston

13. 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 Company, U.S.A, part of Exxon Corporation
Refineries were first located in Humble, then moved to the community of Goose Creek.

14. Goose Creek Field
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

15. 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

16. Other Oil Discoveries
Oil in North Central Texas in 1917
Breckenridege, Mexia, Corsicana, Luling
Geologists believed fault zone contained oil in Central Texas.
1922 – Oil workers drilled into a fault near Luling and struck oil

17. Fault Trap

18. Houston and the Oil Industry
Houston – “Where 17 railroads meet the sea”
Houston provided banking, insurance, transportation, and legal services for oil companies
Gradually Houston became the center of the oil industry
Houston Ship Channel opened the city as a modern port

19. Dallas Dominates Central Texas
By 1900 Dallas is the major city in Central Texas
Railroad Companies/Central Location made the city a natural distribution center
Leading retail center for TX, OK, NM
Dallas becomes a “White Collar” city
Neiman-Marcus Stores were begun in Dallas